)D 


NOTES  ON  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS. 


NOTES, 


CRITICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY, 


ON  THE  BOOK   OF 


EXODUS 


FROM  EGYPT  TO  SINAI. 


MELANCTHON  ¥.  JACOBUS, 

PROFESSOR  OP  BIBLICAL  LITERATURE  AND  EXEGESIS  IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  AT 
ALLEGHENY,  PA. 


NEW  YORK: 
ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS, 

530  BROADWAY. 
1874. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  by 

MELANCTHON  W.  JACOBUS, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS. 

After  the  Genesis  comes  the  Exodus.  After  the  Book  of  the  Creation 
comes  the  Book  of  the  Redemption.  Glancing  back  at  the  heads  of  his- 
tory, we  have  the  Creation  and  the  Fall  of  man  followed  by  the  Deluge, 
in  which  there  was  the  saved  remnant,  and  this  succeeded  by  the  Disper- 
sion and  Population  of  the  Globe,  with  the  national  differences  at  length 
limited  by  the  Divine  plan  to  bring  forward  a  chosen  nation  for  God 
Himself. 

Abraham,  called  from  among  the  Chaldees,  enters  Canaan  as  a  strange 
land,  and  is  led  by  the  Divine  Providence  to  Egypt,  where  his  household, 
at  first  honored,  becomes  enslaved,  but  grows  under  the  special  favor  of 
God  into  a  nation,  and  is  miraculously  redeemed  from  the  bondage,  as 
His  own  chosen  people. 

The  kingdom  of  God  on  earth  is  thus  brought  into  strong  contrast  with 
the  kingdom  of  Satan,  and  the  issue  is  fairly  joined.  The  powers  of  dark- 
ness are  always  found  rallying  against  the  powers  of  light.  God  inter- 
poses, and  achieves  the  victory  for  His  Church  over  His  foes  and  theirs. 

In  all  this,  the  principles  of  the  Divine  administration  for  all  the  ages 
are  plainly  set  forth.  And  this  signal  Deliverance  becomes  a  pledge  for 
all  the  future,  a  historico-prophetical  transaction,  referred  to  by  the 
prophets,  and  the  Psalmists,  as  the  impressive  type  of  the  greater  Deliver- 
ance to  come  in  the  last  time  by  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Church,  in  bondage  to  the  world-kingdom  of  successive  ages,  is  to 
be  led  forth  in  the  future  as  it  has  been  led  forth  in  the  past,  and  by  a 
series  of  splendid  interpositions  of  Divine  power  and  grace,  opening  the 
sea  for  her,  overwhelming  her  enemies,  leading  her  through  the  wilder- 
ness by  the  Angel  of  His  Presence,  giving  her  water  out  of  the  Rock, 
spreading  her  table  with  manna,  and  with  meat,  and  vanquishing  the  foe. 
Step  by  step,  the  Jordan  is  finally  to  be  crossed,  and  the  Land  of  Promise 
is  to  be  entered. 

The  christian  reader  finds  also  his  own  religious  history  shadowed 
forth  by  the  same  wonderful  narrative,  involving  the  same  great  princi- 
ples of  the  Divine  administration.  So  that  "  these  things,  which  were 
written   aforetime,   were  written   for    our   learning,  that    we   through 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 

patience,  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures  might  have  hope."  This,  there- 
fore, is  history  pregnant  with  religious  truth.  Some  will  read  these  won- 
drous chapters  of  the  Pentateuch  as  a  parable,  because  they  are  so  redo- 
lent of  instruction  for  all  time.  But  it  is  history,  gleaming  all  over  with 
pictorial  teaching  for  all  men,  and  for  all  the  ages. 

This  Book  sets  forth  God's  Redemptive  dealing  on  the  lower  plane  of 
temporal  events,  according  to  the  Divine  plan  of  working  out  in  the 
lower  department  His  illustrations  of  the  higher,  and  thus,  as  with  Jesus 
in  His  miracles,  through  the  avenues  of  the  bodily  transaction  reaching 
to  the  affairs  of  the  soul. 

But  for  the  very  reason  that  this  Book  of  Redemption  stands  so  at  the 
gateway  of  inspired  History  in  reference  to  the  Salvation  of  men,  it  has 
been  most  persistently  assaulted  as  most  absurdly  incorrect  in  detail,  and 
unhistorical.  This  is  done  mainly  by  begging  the  whole  question.  It  is 
first  assumed  by  such  that  a  miracle  is  impossible,  and  then  the  record  is 
pronounced  upon  in  the  light  of  a  mere  natural  development  and  is 
denied.  But  the  supernatural  is  not  impossible  if  once  it  be  admitted 
that  there  is  a  God.  For  God  is  supernatural.  And  then  at  once  it  is 
plain  that  the  supernatural  act  is  only  natural  to  a  supernatural  Being. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  work  out  reconciliations  of  science  with  Scripture, 
by  finding  the  miracle  to  be  only  some  exaggeration  of  the  natural  work- 
ing, or  the  natural  forces  only  extraordinarily  operated,  in  a  way  to  tone 
down  the  miracle  and  to  bring  it  within  the  scope  of  the  natural  law.  is 
most  absurd,  because  if  once  the  possibility  of  miracle  be  admitted,  we 
may  safely  follow  the  narrative,  and  not  be  treating  the  miracle  as  "  too 
liard  for  the  Lord."  Nay,  if  the  probability  of  miracle  in  God's  dealings 
with  men  be  admitted,  as  we  must  admit  as  surely  as  there  is  a  God,  then 
we  have  only  to  receive  these  glimpses  of  the  Infinite  as  God's  own  methods 
of  revealing  Himself  and  the  higher  world  to  men.  It  would  seem  as  if 
precisely  to  confront  such  scepticism  as  that  of  our  day,  which  finds  no 
God  in  the  world,  and  puts  the  laws  of  nature  so  called,  in  the  place  of 
God,  that  these  Egyptian  miracles  were  wrought  in  such  close  connection 
with  natural  law,  God  here  will  show  Himself  to  the  unbelievers  to  be 
the  God  of  nature — working  in  the  domain  of  nature  so  as  to  manifestly 
control  the  forces  of  nature  and  to  sway  them  at  His  bidding — ordering 
the  natural  phenomena  in  a  way  to  show  a  supernatural  personal  power 
behind  the  phenomena,  and  directing  the  laws  of  nature  so  as  to  show 
the  lawgiver  in  them  all.  This  close  and  convincing  relation  of  the 
miracle  to  the  natural  phenomenon,  has  encouraged  those  who  strive  to 
find  in  the  operation  only  an  exaggerated  account  of  the  common  physical 
order  of  things.  But  if  this  could  be  accepted  as  only  a  poetic  account 
of  common  events,  how  then  can  we  account  for  the  history  as  to  mo- 
mentous results  brought  about  by  these  events?  It  was  the  effect  of 
these  miracles  upon  Pharaoh  which  led  to  the  Deliverance  of  the  Israel- 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

ites  from  Iiis  oppressive  bondage.     And  it  would  be  idle  to  say  that  after 
all,  there  was  nothing  in  these  mighty  operations  in  nature,  beyond  the 
working  of  natural  law.     Even  De  Wette  has  admitted  the  impossibility 
of  thus  explaining  away  these  miracles  as  they  are  related  in  the  narra- 
tive.    The  only  alternative  must  be  to  deny  the  history,  because  it  is  the 
history  of  miracle.     Though  faith  must  be  founded  on  testimony,  yet  here 
would  be  an  arbitrary  limitation  of  testimony  and  of  history,  so  as  to 
dictate  and  choose  the  things  to  be  believed  however  amply  attested. 
Jehovah  was  here  showing  Himself  to  be  the  Personal  power  in  Egypt 
and  in  all  its  affairs,  and  thus  He  was  propounding  His  supreme  claims 
as  against  their  idol  deities.     It  was  the  Personal  will  displayed  through 
out — forewarning  and  executing  accordingly — bidding  the  natural  forces 
to  come  and  go  at  His  pleasure — and  discriminating  in  the  results  between 
the  Israelites  and  the  Egyptians — this  proved  the  Personal  God.     The 
magicians  were  put  to  shame.     "  They  did  so  with  their  enchantments  " — 
They  wrought  some  resemblances  to  the  miracles,  "  they  did  so  " — thus — 
after  the  same  fashion — imitating  as  to  the  appearance — "  with  their  en- 
ehitntments  " — by  their  jugglery  and  tricks  of  magic — and  only  so  far 
as  to  embolden  those  who  would  not  believe  in  God,  but  would  believe  in 
imposture.     Pharaoh  is  a  representative  unbeliever — lured  on  by  shams 
and  deceits  of  magicians  and  their  experiments,  until  overwhelmed  by 
the  great  miracle  of  the  Judgment  Day.     As  Professor  Henry  has  well 
said,  The  more  Law,  the  more  Law-giver.     The  more  proof  we  find  of 
Law,  the  more  proof  we  have  of  a  Law-giver.     And  these  magicians  of 
Moses'  time  are  referred  to  by  name  as  types  of  their  successors  in  every 
age,  and  in  our  day,  "  ever  learning  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth.     Now  as  Jannes  and  Jambres  withstood  Moses,  so  do 
these  also  resist  the  truth.     Men  of  corrupt  minds,  reprobate  concerning 
the  faith.     But  they  shall  proceed  no  further,  for  their  folly  shall  be  man- 
ifest unto  all  men  as  theirs  also  was." — 2  Tim.  3 :  8. 

To  what  shameless  puerility  are  men  of  learning  left  who  maintain 
that  the  most  we  can  legitimately  gather  from  these  records  is  "  the  not 
ourselves  which  makes  for  righteousness  " — and  that  this  abstraction  is  the 
explanation  of  the  name  Jehovah.  And  Strauss  at  length  declares  that 
"  the  choice  only  lies  between  the  Miracle — the  Divine  Artificer — and  Dar- 
win." It  has  been  well  said,  that  in  proof  of  the  possibility  of  miracle,  the 
christian  man  may  put  forward  the  miracle  of  his  own  regeneration. 
This  is  a  convincing  proof  to  himself  and  may  become  so  to  others  also. 
This  is  in  the  domain  of  "the  greater  works,"  than  these  of  the  physical 
phenomena.  If  "■  the  Christian  is  the  world's  Bible  and  the  only  Bible 
that  it  reads,"  let  not  that  be  unhistorical,  as  the  written  revelation  is 
not.  But  the  denial  of  miracles  has  led  Strauss  and  his  school  to  the 
denial  of  Immortality  and  of  a  Personal  God.  The  standing  miracle  of 
the  ages  and  most  essentially  historical,  is  the  Jewish  nation  itself.     A 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

m 

chaplain  of  Frederic  William  I.  of  Prussia  was  ordered  to  give  the  briefest 
possible  proof  of  tbe  truth  of  Christianity,  and  he  replied—"  The  Jews, 
your  Majesty." 

TITLE. 

The  name  of  the  book,  "Exodus,"  means  Departure  —  going  out— 
and  refers  to  the  leading  fact  recorded — the  Departure  of  the  children 
of  Israel  out  of  Egypt.  It  forms  an  important  chapter  in  the  -National 
Annals  of  the  Hebrew  people  which  are  also  Ecclesiastical  records  in  the 
history  of  God's  ancient  Church. 

AITTHOB. 

The  arguments  for  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  Genesis  are  valid  for  this 
Book  also — {See  Notes  on  Genesis — Introduction).  The  New  Testament  is 
explicit  to  this  effect.  Our  Lord  calls  it  "  the  Book  of  Moses,"  Mark  12  : 
26.  "  Now  that  the  dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush," 
Luke  20  :  37,  etc. 

HISTORICAL  CREDIBILITY. 

The  history  itself  is  amply  attested  by  the  use  of  it  in  the  National 
songs — reciting  the  leading  particulars.  As  in  Psalm  G6.  "  Come  and 
see  the  works  of  Jehovah.  He  is  terrible  in  His  doing  toward  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  *  He  turned  the  sea  into  dry  land.  They  went  through  the 
flood  on  foot.  There  did  we  rejoice  in  Him."  So  in  Ps.  68,  most  express- 
ly in  sublime  passages  referring  to  the  Exodus,  Also  in  Ps.  74.  "  Thou 
didst  divide  the  Sea  by  thy  strength,"  etc.  In  Ps.  77.  "  Thou  leddest 
thy  people  like  a  flock  by  the  hand  of  Moses  and  Aaron."  And  then  the 
leading  events  are  recited  in  detail  in  Ps.  78.  And  how  could  this  Psalm 
have  been  composed,  or  how  could  it  have  been  sung  by  generations  of 
the  people  as  a  National  song  if  there  had  been  no  such  history  ?  Ps. 
81  mentions  the  proving  at  Meribah.  So  Ps.  86,  Ps.  89:  10,  Ps.  103. 
"  He  made  known  His  ways  unto  Moses,"  etc.  The  history  is  sung  in 
course,  in  Psalms  105  and  106. 

The  Prophets  also  refer  to  the  history  of  the  Exodus  in  a  way  to  show 
that  this  stupendous  Deliverance  was  at  the  basis  of  Israel's  religious  his- 
tory, and  the  pledge  of  the  more  glorious  deliverance  that  was  yet  to 
come.  "Art  thou  not  it  (He)  that  hath  cut  Rahab  (Egypt)  and  wounded 
the  Dragon  ?  Art  thou  not  it  that  hath  dried  the  sea,  the  waters  of  the 
great  deep,  that  hath  made  the  depths  of  the  sea  a  way  for  the  ransomed 
to  pass  over?"  (Isa.  51  :  10.)  "  Where  is  He  that  brought  them  up  out  of 
the  Sea  with  the  Shepherd  of  His  flock  ?  that  led  them  by  the  right  hand 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 

of  Moses  with  His  glorious  arm,  dividing  the  water  before  them  to  make 
Himself  an  everlasting  name,  that  led  them  through  the  deep  as  a  horse 
through  the  wilderness  that  they  should  not  stumble  ?"  (Isa.  63 :  13  ;  Isa. 
43  :  9.)  So  in  Jeremiah  "  Neither  said  they  where  is  the  Lord  that  brought 
us  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,"  etc.  (Jer.  2  :  6  ;  16  :  14  ;  23  :  7.)  See  In- 
troduction to  "  Notes  or  Qejiesis,"  pp.  xi.,  etc. 

MOSES. 

As  surely  as  the  Jewish  people  exists,  so  surely  does  its  peculiar  his- 
tory point  back  to  Moses  at  the  Exodus.  Great  as  were  the  Pharaohs, 
Moses  was  greater  than  they.  And  the  occupation  of  Judea  by  this  peo- 
ple came  to  pass  only  in  consequence  of  their  deliverance  from  the  bond- 
age of  Pharaoh  and  the  destruction  of  the  haughty  and  godless  oppressor. 
All  history  must  be  denied,  and  its  foundations  subverted,  if  we  attempt 
to  demolish  these  records  upon  which  the  Jewish  history  stands.  How 
then  did  Moses,  impotent  as  he  was  by  himself,  and  unaided  by  any 
world-power,  accomplish  this  wonderful  deliverance  in  the  face  of  the 
world's  proudest  and  most  powerful  kingdom  ?  Without  battle  or  blood, 
and  without  human  intervention,  what  was  the  secret  of  his  success,  if 
we  do  not  find  it  here  written  in  the  wonder-working  power  of  God  ?  It 
would  be  far  more  difficult  to  believe  in  the  Exodus  itself,  apart  from 
the  Divine  interposition,  than  it  would  be  to  credit  that  interposition  as 
here  narrated.  The  history  is  natural  in  the  midst  of  the  supernatural. 
All  occurring  in  strict  conformity  with  the  known  peculiarities  of  the 
respective  people,  and  with  the  usages  and  physical  features  of  Egypt 
itself,  so  as  to  furntsh  the  ample  internal  evidence  of  veracity  on  the 
part  of  the  narrator,  who  must  also  have  been  an  eye-witness  of  the 
events.  And  at  this  day  it  would  be  as  idle  to  deny  the  existence  of 
the  Jewish  people,  in  their  strong  peculiarities  of  race  and  usage,  as  to 
deny  these  early  chapters  in  their  national  annals,  on  which  their  his- 
tory is  founded,  or  to  deny  the  facts  of  Moses'  Leadership  as  their  Cham- 
pion under  God  before  Pharaoh.  "  Hoses  in  whom  ye  trust"  said  the 
Saviour  to  the  Jews  of  His  day  (John  5  :  45).  "  Not  all  that  came  out  of 
Egypt  by  Moses,"  said  Paul  to  the  Hebrews  (Heb.  3:  16).  "All  were 
baptized  to  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea"  (1  Cor.  10  :  2).  "  Jannes 
and  Jambres  withstood  Moses  "  (2'  Tim.  3  :  8).  And  the  history,  includ- 
ing all  that  is  supernatural  about  it,  must  be  received  as  surely  as  we 
believe  that  there  is  to-day  this  Jewish  people  upon  earth  who  sing  of 
this  Exodus  as  a  leading  chapter  in  their  national  annals.  There  is  no 
accounting  for  their  history,  nor  even  for  their  existence,  if  these  events 
of  the  Exodus  be  denied.  It  is  only  a  strange  infatuated  zeal  to  get  rid 
of  the  idea  of  a  Personal  God  that  brands  the  record  as  unhistorical, 
when  the  history  is  as  much  the  history  of  the  supernatural  as  it  is  of 


xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

the  natural,  aud  you  cannot  dissever  the  two  without  destroying  the 
history. 

THE  PASSOVEK. 

And  how  can  this  religious  festival  of  the  Jewish  Church  be  accounted 
for,  celebrated  by  a  whole  nation  during  three  thousand  years,  unless 
these  records  of  the  Exodus  be  true?  It  has  not  more  real  connection 
with  the  harvest  "  first  fruits,"  than  it  has  with  these  "  first  fruits"  of 
Israel's  Redemption,  Can  we  suppose  that  the  sacred  and  devout  wor- 
ship of  the  Jewish  Church,  and  of  the  Christian  Church  as  grafted  upon 
it,  could  have  proceeded  during  three  thousand  years  upon  a  sheer  fic- 
tion, or  on  a  mere  mythology  ?  That  grand  Redemptive  act  in  history, 
as  typical  and  foreshadowy  of  the  Redemption  by  Christ  Jesus,  was 
planned  by  the  Divine  mind,  and  the  fact  was  given  to  be  celebrated  as 
revealing  God's  purposes  of  grace  for  His  Church  and  people  in  all  the 
ages.  Just  as  the  Messianic  idea  is  the  golden  thread  upon  which  all  the 
events  of  history  are  strung.  As  well  could  we  think  of  a  "  Fourth  of 
July"  being  celebrated  by  our  own  nation  during  nearly  one  hundred 
years,  and  yet  disbelieve  and  deny  any  such  event  as  the  Declaration  of 
our  National  Independence. 

THE  DECALOGUE. 

The  Mosaic  code  of  Ten  Commandments  has  impressed  itself  upon 
the  history  of  the  civilized  world.  And  whence  could  it  have  originated 
if  not  as  recorded  in  this  Book  of  Exodus  ?  As  the  acknowledged  stand- 
ard of  morality,  and  as  the  true  basis  of  moral  legislation,  whence  was  it 
derived  if  not  from  God,  and  where  was  it  given  if  not  at  Sinai  ?  Is  it 
not  grossly  absurd  to  account  for  it  only  "  as  the  product  of  a  necessity 
in  human  society,  gradually  taught  by  experience,  and  finding  in  this 
fact  the  reason  of  its  unalterable  obligation  ? "  Will  Strauss,  as  the 
prince  of  disbelievers,  accept  the  Sabbath  law  as  thus  originated,  and 
will  his  followers  so  agree  to  admit  its  unalterable  obligation  ?  But  that 
law  refers  to  the  fact  of  Creation,  and  bases  itself  upon  the  resting  of 
God  from  His  works  at  the  end  of  the  creative  week.  And  then  if  this 
Moral  Code  grew  only  gradually  out  of  the  public  necessity,  who  tabu- 
lated it  in  its  present  form  of  ten  commands  ?  Why  ten  and  no  more  ? 
But  is  it  not  more  easy  to  credit  the  record  for  any  intelligible  origin  of 
such  a  code,  and  for  its  necessary  sanction  of  Divine  authority  ?  True 
indeed,  it  had  its  roots  in  the  public  necessity,  and  has  proved  itself  in 
utmost  accord  with  it  through  all  the  ages.  But  it  originated  not  with 
that  people  in  the  wilderness,  recent  from  the  degradation  of  Egyptian 
bondage.     It  had  its  origin  in  God,  who  in  connection  with  the  Redemp- 


INTRODUCTION.  xvii 

tive  act,  there  grouped  the  fundamental  principles  of  morality  into  a 
Code  for  all  nations  and  for  all  ages,  and  of  universal  application.  But 
wherever  the  Decalogue  is  read,  there  is  read  the  Preface  to  the  Com- 
mandments in  those  significant  words  which  assert  the  historical  verity 
of  the  Exodus  records — "  I  am  Jehovah  thy  God,  which  have  brought 
thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage."  The 
Law  of  Ten  Commands  stands  thus  distinctly  prefaced  by  the  history  of 
this  Deliverance  from  Egypt ;  and  you  can  as  well  deny  the  Decalogue 
and  its  Divine  obligation  as  deny  the  Exodus  itself  as  here  recorded. 

CHKONOLOGY. 

The  Chronology  cannot  be  positively  determined,  but  may  be  regarded 
as  an  open  question. 

The  Period  of  the  Patriarchs  from  the  Covenant  to  the  Exodus  is  com- 
puted at  430  years  (A.  M.  2086-2516),  though  some  high  authorities  reckon 
400  years  as  belonging  to  the  sojourn  in  Egypt.  Gen.  15  :  13,  Exod.  12  :  40,  and 
Acts  7  :  6,  with  Galat.  3  :  17,  are  the  passages  which  need  to  be  compared. 
In  Galatians  the  period  from  the  Promise  to  the  Exodus  is  stated  as  being 
430  years.  And  the  other  passages  do  not  necessarily  conflict  with  this. 
For  Palestine  is  noted  in  several  passages  as  being  to  them  a  strange 
land,  and  so  answering  to  the  description  in  Gen.  15  :  13.  And  their  so- 
journ there  is  to  be  reckoned  with  the  dwelling  in  Egypt  as  part  of  the 
entire  time.  So  the  Sept.  and  the  Samar  Pent  add  the  words  "  And  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,"  to  define  the  sojourn.  So  counted,  the  half  of  the 
whole  period  would  fall  to  each  locality.  We  may  be  tempted  to  concede  the 
entire  time  for  Egypt  because  of  a  seeming  relief  in  working  out  the  large 
increase  of  the  people  during  their  abode  there.  But  see  Notes  Ch.  12 . 
40,  where  the  passage  reads  "  Now  the  sojourning  of  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, who  dwelt  in  Egypt,  was  four  hundred  and  thirty  years."  The  en- 
tire sojourning  (not  in  Egypt,  but)  of  the  people  w7w  dwelt  in  Egypt,  is  given 
in  the  same  terms  as  we  find  in  Galatians,  more  explicitly  set  for  the  period 
from  the  promise  to  the  law — "  The  Jaw,  which  was  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years  after  "  the  promise.  This  exactly  defines  the  time,  and  puts 
it  within  most  express  limits,  and  must  therefore  be  followed.  See  also 
Ellicott  on  Galat.  3  :  17,  Notes. 


ANALYSIS. 

The  History  divides  itself  into  five  special  topics. 

I.  Moses'  commission  to  Israel  in  Egypt. — (Six  chapters)  chs.  1-6. 

II.  The  ten  plagues  and  the  Passover — (Six  chapters)  chs.  7-12. 

III.  The  Exodus  and  onward  to  Sinai — (Six  chapters)  chs.  13-18. 

IV.  The  Law  given — (Six  chapters)  chs.  19-24. 

V.  The  Tabernacle — (Sixteen  chapters)  chs.  25-40. 


SYNOPSIS   OF   THE  HISTORY. 


BOOK   I. 

ISRAEL  IN  PREPARATION  FOR  GOD'S  SALVATION. 

Chaps.  I  to  XI. 


§     1.  Israel  in  Egypt. — Jacob's  Family. 

§    2.  House  of  Bondage 

§     3.  The  male  children  doomed  to  death. 

§    4.  The  Birth  of  Moses.    . 

§    5.  Moses'  Patriotism  and  his  flight.  . 

§    6.  Call  of  Moses 

§    7.  Moses'  objections  and  God's  answer. 

§    8.  Doubts  removed.         . 

§     9.  Moses'  further  objection,  etc. 

§10.  Moses  and  Aaron  before  Pharaoh.    . 

§  11.  Jehovah' s  promise. 

§  12.  Moses'  discouragement,  God's  order. 

§  13.  Miracles  according  their  mission. 

§  14.  The  First  Plague  (Blood). 

§  15.  The  Second  Plague  (Frogs). 

§  16.  The  Third  Plague  (I Ace). 

§  17.  The  Fourth  Plague  (Flies).  . 

§  18.  The  Fifth  Plague  (Rinderpest). 

§  19.  The  Sixth  Plague  (Boils,  etc).  J. 


Ch.  1 

:     1-6. 

.     Ch.  1: 

7-14. 

Ch.  1 

15-22. 

.     Ch.  2 

:    1-10. 

Ch.  2 

11-25. 

.     Ch.  3 

:    1-10. 

Ch.  3 

11-22. 

.    Ch.   4 

:     1-9. 

Ch.  4 

10-31. 

.    Ch.  5 

1-23. 

Ch.    G 

:     1-8. 

.     Ch.  6 

9-30. 

Ch.  7 

1-13. 

.      Ch.  7 

14-25. 

Ch.  8 

1-15. 

.      Ch.  8 

16-19. 

Ch.  8 

20-32. 

.      Ch.    { 

):     1-7 

Ch.  9 

8-12 

SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  HISTORY. 


xix 


§20. 

The  Seventh  Plague  (Hail) 

Ch.  9: 

13-35. 

§21. 

The  Eighth  Plague  (Locusts) 

Ch.  10 

1-20. 

§  22. 

The  Ninth  Plague  (Darkness).         .... 

Ch.  10 : 

21-29. 

§23. 

The  Tenth  Plague  (threatened  death  of  the  1st  born 

)  Ch.  11 

1-10. 

BOOK  II. 

THE  COVENANT  CONSECRATION  AND  SEAL.- 

-EXODUS  TO 

SINAI. 

Chaps.  XII  to  XVIII. 

§24. 

Institution  of  the  Passover.         .... 

Ch.  12 : 

1-14. 

And  of  Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread.    . 

Ch.  12 : 

15-20. 

§  25. 

Jehovah's  Passover "* 

Ch.  12  : 

21-28. 

§  26. 

The  Tenth  Plague  executed.           .        . 

Ch.  12  : 

29-36. 

§  27. 

The  Exodus  {begun) 

Ch.  12  : 

37-42. 

§  28. 

Ordinances  of  the  Passover. 

Ch.  12  : 

43-51. 

§29. 

Sanctifi cation  of  First  Born,  etc. 

Ch.  13  : 

1-16. 

§  30. 

The  Exodus  {continued). 

Ch.  13 : 

17-22. 

§  81. 

God's  marching  orders  and  the  pursuit. 

Ch.  14 : 

1-18. 

§  32. 

The  Bed  Sea  crossed 

Ch.  14 : 

19-31. 

§  33. 

Review.     Triumphal  song.           .... 

Ch.  15 

1-21. 

§  34. 

The  Bitter  Waters  sweetened.          .... 

Ch.  15  : 

22-27. 

§  35. 

The  Bread  from  Heaven.            .... 

Ch.  16 : 

1-35. 

§  36. 

Murmuring  for  lack  of  water.     Horeb. 

Ch.   17 

:     1-7. 

§  37. 

Defeat  of  Amalek 

Ch.  17 : 

8-16. 

§38. 

Jethro's  visit  to  Moses.    .        .        . 

Ch.  18 : 

1-27. 

BOOK  III. 

SINAI.-THE  LAW  GIVEN. 

§  39. 

The  Moral  Law  introduced.          .... 

Ch.  19 

§-40. 

The  Ten  Commandments. 

Ch.  20 

:  1-17. 

§41. 

The  Civil  Law 

Chs.  21-23. 

BOOK  IV. 

GOD'S  PUBLIC  WORSHIP  PROVIDED  FOR. 

NACLE. 


THE   TABER- 


Chaps.  XXIV  to  XL. 

§  42.     Divine   directions  for  the   building  and  arrangement 

of  Jehovah's  Dwelling-place Chs.  24-31. 


xx  SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  HISTORY. 

§  43.  The  Golden  Calf. Ch.  32. 

§44.  The  People  forgiven Ch.  33: 1-20.  Ch.  34. 

§  45.  The  Preparation  of  the  Tabernacle  and  furniture.  Chs.  35-39. 

§  46.  The  Tabernacle  set  up.  .....       Ch.      40 :        1-3S. 

There  are  many  and  strong  reasons  for  supposing  that  the  Book  of 
Job  was  written  during  Moses'  sojourn  in  the  wilderness  with  Jethro 
and  was  brought  with  him  to  Egypt  for  the  instruction  and  consolation 
of  the  people  in  their  bondage,  and  to  work  in  them  a  spirit  of  patience 
and  confidence  under  the  Divine  dealing.  It  would  sufficiently  set  forth 
the  justice  of  God  in  men's  afflictions,  and  the  impossibility  of  self -justi- 
fication while  it  would  impress  upon  them  the  need  of  a  mediator  with 
God,  and  would  exhibit  in  very  striking  passages  the  great  leading  truths 
of  Salvation  by  a  Redeemer,  Job  19  :  25-27  ;  33  :  23-28.  This  was  possi- 
bly the  first  and  only  written  revelation  as  yet  existing.  But  now  there 
was  to  be  given  a  new  and  more  complete  revelation  for  the  training  of 
the  covenant  people  in  the  fundamental  ideas  of  sin  and  of  expiation. 
There  was  now  to  be  announced  a  law  and  a  system  of  ordinances,  as  the 
basis  of  religious  living  :  and  herein  also  the  church  was  to  receive  a  well 
defined  and  Divinely  appointed  polity  for  its  own  visible  establishment 
and  for  the  conservation  of  the  truth,  in  preparation  for  the  Advent  of 
the  Messiah.  At  the  same  time  the  Covenant  Angel — the  Jehovah  re- 
vealed to  Moses  in  Midian  as  the  glorious  Personage  in  the  Burning 
Bush  presiding  over  the  interests  of  His  suffering  church  and  securing 
her  Deliverance  was  to  appear  as  the  living  Head  and  guide  of  His  people 
through  the  wilderness. 

The  Passover  was  given  to  be  the  top  and  crown  of  the  ordinances, 
the  first  idea  being  that  of  Release.  And  so  Pilate,  at  the  trial  of  the 
Messiah,  found  the  custom  grown  up,  along  with  the  Paschal  celebra- 
tion, to  release  a  prisoner  at  the  feast  (John  18  :  30).  So  that  all  through 
the  Scripture,  the  Messianic  idea  is  the  fine  gold-thread  that  glistens  in 
the  whole  fabric  of  revelation,  and  is  at  length  wrought  into  the  glowing 
portrait  of  Jesus  Christ — "  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken 
by  the  Prophet,  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  Son." 


A  SUMMARY  VIEW  OF  THE  TRANSACTIONS  ATTESTED  BY  EGYP- 
TIAN MONUMENTS,  AND  OF  THEIR  CONNECTION  WITH 
HEBREW  HISTORY. 


DYNASTIES. 


Xllth  Dynasty : 
seven  Pha- 
raohs, from 
Amenemha  I. 
to  Amenenaha 
Fv . ,  and  a 
queen  regnant. 


XIIIthtoXYIIth 
Dynasty : 


XYTIIth   Dynas- 
ty: 


Aahmesl.  (Amo- 
sis). 


Nefertari. 


Amenotep  I.,  or 
Amenophis. 


Transactions  kxowx  from  Con- 

TE3IPORARY  MONUilENTS. 


A  period  of  great  prosperity  ;  for- 
eigners, especially  from  Western 
Asia,  received  and  promoted  un- 
der the  early  kings;  and  under 
the  later  kings  works  of  extraor- 
dinary magnitude  executed  to  se- 
cure the  irrigation  of  Egypt,  and 
to  guard  against  the  recurrence 
of  famine. 


The  early  Pharaohs  still  masters  of 
Egypt.  Invasion  of  the  Hyksos. 
Salatis  master  of  Avaris,  i.  e., 
Tanis,  or  Zoan.  Egypt  divided ; 
the  worship  of  Set,  Sutech,  or 
Baal,  established  by  the  Hyksos 
in  the  north ;  wars  between  the 
Theban  dynasty  and  Apepi,  or 
Apophis,  the  last  king  of  the 
Hyksos. 


Aahmes  I.,  or  Amosis,  captures 
Avaris  and  expels  the  Hyksos. 
Buildings  of  great  extent  under- 
taken or  completed  with  the  aid 
of  forced  laborers  or  mercenaries. 
The  worship  of  the  Theban  deities 
re-established. 


The  Egyptian  Queen,  a  Nubian  by 
birth,  possessed  of  great  influ- 
ence, both  before  and  after  the 
death  of  Aahmes. 


Expeditions  into  Ethiopia:  the 
Queen-sistei  in  power ;  succeed- 
ing as  Regent. 


Connection-  with  Scriptural 
History. 


According  to 

Speakers  Com. 

and  others. 


Abraham  re- 
ceived and 
favored. 

Joseph  saves 
Egypt  from 
famine  ;  the 
P  h  a  r  a  oh 
master  of  the 
resources  of 
Egypt. 


The  Israelites 
in  Goshen  ra- 
pidly increas- 
ing and  occu- 
pying the 
whole  dis- 
trict, but  in  a 
condition  of 
dependence, 
or  partial  ser- 
vitude. 

Beginning  of 
a  systematic 
persecut  ion 
of  the  Israel- 
ites, who  are 
employed  as 
forced  labor- 
ers in  restor- 
ing or  build- 
ing forts  and 
magazines  in 
their  own 
district. 

Moses  saved 
and  adopted 
by  an  Egypt- 
ian princess. 


Flight  of  Mo- 
ses into  Mid- 
ian. 


According  to 

Bragsch  and 

others,  as  here 

adopted. 


Abraham  in 
Egypt  under 
the  Hyksos. 
Joseph  minis- 
ter of  Apo- 
phis. 


The  Israelites 
are  supposed 
to  remain  dur- 
ing the  whole 
period  of  the 
18th  dynasty 
in  undisturb- 
ed possession 
of  the  district 
of  Goshen. 


SUMMARY   VIEW   OF   TRANSACTIONS 


Dynasties. 


Transactions  known  from  Con- 
temporary Monuments. 


Connection  with  Scriptural 

UlSTORY. 


According  to 

Speakers  ( lom. 
and  others. 


According  to 
Brugsch  and 

others,  as  here 
adopted. 


Thotmes  I. 


Thotmes  II.  and 
Hatasou. 


Thotmes  III. 


Amenotep    (Am- 
enophis)  II. 

Thotmes  IV. 

Amenotep  III. 


Amenotep  IV.  or 
Khu-en-Aten. 

Princes  not  con- 
sidered legiti- 
mate. 

Horemhelb. 

XlXth  Dynasty : 
Eameses  I. 


Expeditions  into  Nubia  and  Meso- 
potamia ;  immense  increase  of 
the  Eg3T?tian  power. 

First  part  of  the  reign  prosperous  ; 
no  indication  of  foreign  or  intes- 
tine war  ;  latter  part  of  the  reign 
a  blank,  followed  by  a  general  re- 
volt of  the  confederates  in  Syria. 
Hatasou,  queen  regnant,  and  re- 
taining power  for  seventeen  or 
twenty-two  years. 


First  attempt  to  recover  the  ascend- 
ancy in  Syria  in  the  22d  year. 
Wars  :  repeated  incursions  into 
Palestine,  Phoenicia,  Syria,  and 
Mesopotamia,  terminating  in  the 
fortieth  year  of  this  reign. 


Expedition  into  Syria  by  sea  ;  over- 
throw of  the  confederated  nations 
to  the  north  of  Palestine. 

A  reign  without  notable  occur- 
rences. 

A  prosperous  reign  ;  supremacy 
maintained  in  Syria  and  Mesopo- 
tamia ;  no  intimations  of  warfare 
in  Palestine  ;  the  Queen  Tei,  of 
foreign  origin,  favors  a  new  and 
purer  form  of  religion. 


The  religious  revolution  completed: 
followed  by  a  period  of  disturb- 
ance and  exhaustion. 


End  of  eighteenth  dynasty. 

No  considerable  events  ;  notices  of 
war  with  the  Cheta,  who  from  this 
time  are  dominant  in  Syria. 


Return  of  Mo- 
ses ;  the  Ex- 
o  d  u  s ;  de- 
struction of 
Pharaoh  and 
his  army. 


The  Israelites 
in  the  wilder- 
ness ;  en- 
trance into 
Palestine  of 
Joshua  in  the 
fortieth  year 
affer  the  Ex- 
odus. 

Progress  of 
the  Israel- 
ites in  Pales- 
tine. 


CushanRisha- 
thaim  in  Pa- 
lestine. 


The  interval  between  Cushan 
Rishathaim,  and  Jabin,  ex- 
tends to  the  later  reigns  in 
this  dynasty.  Palestine  re- 
mains, to  a  great  extent,  in 
the  possession  of  the  Amor- 
ites  and  other  people  of  Ca- 
naan :  sometimes  overrun  by 
neighboring  people,  and  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  period 
subject  to  the  Philistines  in 
the  south,  and  the  Cheta,  or 
Hittites.  in  the  north. 


ATTESTED  BY   EGYPTIAN   MONUMENTS. 


Dynasties. 


Seti  I. 


Merneptah. 


Seti  II.,  Siptah; 
is  close  of  the 
XlXth  Dynas- 
ty. 


XXth  Dynasty : 
Rameses  III. 


Transactions  known  from  Con- 
temporary Monuments. 


The  Shasous  or  Nomads  from  Egypt 
to  Syria,  and  the  Cheta  and  na- 
tions of  Mesopotamia,  broken 
and  subdued  by  a  series  of  inva- 
sions. The  empire  reaches  its 
highest  point  of  civilization  and 
power. 

During  many  years  Rameses  n.  is 
co-regent  with  his  father  with 
royal  dignity.  On  his  accession 
as  sole  monarch,  he  invades  Syria, 
defeats  the  Cheta,  with  whose 
king,  however,  he  afterwards  con- 
tracts an  alliance  on  equal  terms, 
marrying  his  daughter.  Captives 
are  employed  in  great  numbers  in 
building,  restoring,  or  enlarging 
fortresses,  cities,  and  temples  ; 
among  them  Aperu  at  Pa-Rameses 
and  Memphis.  The  reign  lasts 
sixty-seven  years,  but  the  date  of 
its  commencement,  whether  from 
his  father's  death,  or  his  admis- 
sion to  royalty,  is  uncertain. 

Beginning  of  reign  signalized  by 
victory  over  Libyan  and  Mediter- 
ranean invaders:  no  expeditions 
into  Asia :  general  state  of  amity 
with  the  Cheta :  eastern  frontier 
of  Egypt  carefully  guarded :  indi- 
cations of  unbroken  peace  and 
prosperity  in  the  district  about 
Pa-Rameses. 

A  period  not  distinguished  by  for- 
eign wars  :  letters,  however,  flour- 
ish, and  the  nation  appears  to  be 
peaceful  and  contented. 


A  long  series  of  successful  wars  in 
Africa  and  Asia:  Palestine  tra- 
versed, Syria  invaded,  and  the 
Cheta  overthrown.  The  reign 
lasts  at  least  twenty-seven  years. 
Aperu  employed  on  the  royal  do- 
mains. 


Connection  with  Scriptural 
History. 


According  to 

Speakers  Com. 

and  others. 


Palestine  in  a 
state  of  de- 
pression, 
Philistines  in 
the  south, 
Jabin  in  the 
north ;  revolt 
against  Ja- 
bm,  over- 
throw of  Sis- 
era;  war 
against  Ja- 
bm  contin- 
ued for  some 
years. 


Israelites  re- 
cover posses- 
sion of  Pales- 
tine  after  the 
overthrow  of 
Jabin. 


According  to 

Brugsch  and 

others,  as  here 

adopted. 


F  i  r  1 1  begin- 
ning of  the 
persecution 
of  the  Israel- 
i  t  e  s  ;  the 
birth,  early 
life,  and  ex- 
ile of  Moses. 


The  plagues  of 
Egypt,  fol- 
lowed by  the 
Exodus. 


The  Israelites 
in  the  wilder- 
ness. 


The  conquest 
of  Palestine 
begun  under 
Joshua. 


SUMMARY   VIEW   OF   TRANSACTIONS,    ETC. 


Dynasties. 


Rainesee  IV. 


Barneses    V. 
XI. 


to 


Barneses  XII. 


Rameses  XHI. 


Transactions  known  from  Con- 
temporary Monuments. 


A  peaceful  reign,  occupied  chiefly  in 
great  buildings.  Aperu,  captives 
of  war,  employed  in  the  quar- 
ries. 


A  period  of  uncertain  duration,  the 
reigns  generally  short  and  undis- 
tinguished. 

In  this  reign  the  Egyptians  retain 
an  acknowledged  pre-eminence  in 
Syria  and  Mesopotamia. 

Close  of  the  twentieth  djrnasty. 


Connection  with  Scriptural 
History. 


According  to 
Speakers  Com. 

and  others. 


The  events 
recorded  in 
the  book  of 
Judges  af- 
ter the  time 
of  Deborah 
and  Barak. 


According  to 
Brugech  and 

other;-. 

adopted. 


The  entire  se- 
ries Of  events 
from  the  p«s- 
sage  over  the 
Jordan  to  the 
close  of  the 
1)  o  o  k  of 
Judges. 


THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

"IVTOW  these  are  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel,  which 
1\  came  into  a  Egypt  ;  every  man  and  his  household  eame 
with  Jacob. 

a  Ge.  46  :  8. 

BOOK  I. 

ISRAEL  IE  PREPARATION  FOR  GOD'S  SALVA- 
TION.   Chs.  I-XI. 


CHAPTER  I. 

§  1.    Israel  in  Egypt.     Jacob's 
Family.    Ck.  1 :  1-6. 

The  family  of  Jacob  are  now  to 
become  the  people  of  Israel.  They 
were  led  by  God  to  a  Gentile  land 
to  have  their  development  into  a  na- 
tion, under  the  oppressions  of  a  hea- 
then power.  For  already  the  cove- 
nant God  of  Israel  makes  it  appar- 
ent that  He  does  not  confine  His 
manifestations  to  the  Holy  Land. 
(Acts,  ch  7.)  From  a  family  the 
children  of  Jacob  (Israel)  are  (1)  to 
be  enlarged  into  national  dimen- 
sions under  the  signal  Providence 
of  God.  They  are  (2)  to  attain  their 
independence  by  the  agency  of  Mo- 
ses. They  are  (3)  to  receive  a  Di- 
vine Law  and  Constitution,  by  a 
solemn  act  of  consecration  as  a  holy 
people — and  (4)  they  are  to  be  in- 
troduced to  their  own  land,  where 
they  shall  be  placed  in  training  as 
the  covenant  people  of  God.     And 

VOL.    I. 2. 


thus  God's  promises  to  Abraham 
are  here  to  be  traced  to  their  signal 
fulfilments.  (Gen.  15  :  5,  13,  15,  16, 
and  46 :  3,  4). 

1-5.  Now  these  are  the  names. 
Literally — And  these — showing  the 
connection  of  the  narrative.  The 
sacred  historian  begins,  here,  the 
narrative  of  Israel  in  Egypt.  He 
reverts  to  the  entrance  of  Jacob  and 
his  family  into  the  land,  in  order  to 
relate  the  Exodus  of  the  people 
from  the  bondage  of  Pharaoh.  It 
will  be  shown  how  the  family  de- 
veloped into  a  nation,  by  the  won- 
derful Providence  of  God,  —  and 
how  they  were  prepared,  by  such 
amazing  increase  and  enlargement  to 
go  forth,  in  God's  time,  as  an  inde- 
pendent people.  The  fact  is  to  be 
noted  that  it  was  the  entire  family 
of  Jacob,  but  small  at  utmost, 
which  came  down  into  Egypt  first 
or  last,  for  this  is  the  covenant  fact. 
They  are  therefore  called — the  chil- 
dren of  Israel — the  names  are  given 
for  exactness — Israel  being  the  new 


26 


EXODUS. 


2  Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi,  and  Juclah, 

3  Issachar,  Zebulun,  and  Benjamin, 

4  Dan,  and  Naphtali,  Gad,  and  Asher. 

5  And  all  these  souls  that  came  out  of  the  loins  of  Jacob 
were  seventy  b  souls  :  for  Joseph  was  in  Egypt  already. 

6  And  Joseph  died,0  and  all  his  brethren, 
eration. 


and  all  that  gen- 


b  De.  10;  22.     c  Gen.  50:  26. 


name  and  the  covenant  name,  re- 
minding of  God's  promise,  which  is 
here  traced  to  its  fulfilment.  (1)  As 
to  the  increase  (Gen.  15 :  5,)  and  (2) 
as  to  the  oppression  (Gen.  15  :  1 3,) 
and  (3)  as  to  the  Deliverance  (Gen. 
15 :  14).  Which  came  into  Egypt. 
(See  on  Gen.  46 :  27.)  The  catalogue 
here  is  different.  Eleven  sons  of 
Jacob  are  named,  and  Joseph  is 
added  with  explanations.  These 
were  the  recognized  heads  of  houses 
at  the  time — and  it  is  said — Every 
man  and  his  household  came  loith 
Jacob — that  is,  these  sons  with  their 
families — their  wives  and  children. 
The  entire  family  is  now  reckoned, 
who  came  out  of  the  loins  of  Jacob, 
(66)  as  seventy  souls.  This  would 
exclude  the  sons'  wives.  But  as  Jo- 
seph was  in  Egypt  already,  it  is  prop- 
er to  include  him  and  his  two  sons, 
and  besides  these  Jacob  himself  is 
counted,  for  the  object  is  to  make 
up  the  entire  family,  in  order  to 
show  the  increase.  This  reckoning 
yields  the  number  seventy.  There 
was  an  intended  significance  in  this. 
(See  Deut.  32 :  8.)  It  had  a  refer- 
ence to  the  nations  of  mankind, 
whose  number  was  seventy  as  given 
in  the  ethnological  table.  (Gen. 
ch.  10.)  So  there  were  seventy  el- 
ders of  Israel.  (Exod.  24  :  1,  etc.) 
Seventy  members  of  the  Sanhedrim, 
— and  seventy  disciples  sent  out  to 
the  missionary  work  —  all  along 
looking  to  a  special  relation  of  Is- 
rael to  the  nations  of  the  earth.  So 
says  the  Jewish  book  Zohar,  (see 
Lightfoot,  Luke  3 :  36,)  "  Seventy 
souls  went  down  with  Jacob  into 
Egypt  that  they  might  restore  the 
seventy  families  dispersed  by  the 


confusion  of  tongues."  Stephen 
(Acts  7  :  14)  cites  from  the  Septua- 
gint  the  number  seventy-Jive,  which 
was  made  by  including  more  of  Jo- 
seph's descendants.  But  as  speak- 
ing to  those  who  used  the  Septua- 
gint,  he  quoted  from  their  Bible,  the 
different  enumerations.  "  Jacob  was 
included  because  the  natural  head 
(says  Murphy)  is  essential  to  the 
unity  and  integrity  of  the  family." 
(See  on  Gen.  46  :  27,  my  notes.)  But 
the  figures  in  Acts  7,  may  be  ex- 
plained by  noticing  that  there  were 
probably  two  sons'  wives  dead — Ju- 
dah's  (Gen.  38 :  12)  and  Simeon's 
(Gen.  46:  10;  Comp.  Gen.  28:  1) 
leaving  only  nine.  Adding  these 
nine  to  sixty-six,  there  would  be 
seventy-five.  And  these  were  reck- 
oned by  Stephen  in  *  all  7iis  (Jacob's) 
kindred,"  as  being  Joseph's  kin- 
dred— by  blood,  probably  of  Ketu- 
rah,  Ishmael  and  Esau.  (See  Hale's 
Ghronol.)  Besides  Jacob's  own  fam- 
ily, it  is  probable  that  many  mi- 
grated with  him  who  were  not  of 
his  loins.  A  few  are  referred  to  by 
Joseph  where  he  distinguishes  his 
brethren  from  his  father's  house,  or 
servants.  (Gen.  46  :  31  ;  Comp.  Gen. 
30:  43;  32:  5,  7,  16;  see  Gen.  12: 
16). 

6.  Joseph  died.  It  was  after  the 
death  of  Joseph  and  his  house — 
himself  the  secular  strength  of  the 
family  in  Egypt,  the  source  of  their 
early  prosperity  there — that  God  so 
wonderfully  increased  them.  All 
that  generation — the  entire  migra- 
ting company  had  passed  away. 
Some  refer  the  term  generation 
here,  to  the  ordinary  sense  of  thirty- 
three  years,  or  a  third  of  a  century, 


CHAPTER  I. 


27 


7  And  the  children  of  Israel  were  fruitful,  and  increased 
abundantly,  d  and  multiplied,  and  waxed  exceeding  mighty ; 
and  the  land  was  filled  with  them. 

8  Now  there  arose  up  a  new  king  over  Egypt,  which 
knew  e  not  Joseph. 

d  Ge.  46:  3.      e  Ec.  2:  19. 


— average  life — others  to  a  century. 
Joseph  lived  110  years.  He  died 
about  70  years  after  the  migration, 
and  he  lived  to  see  the  fourth  gen- 
eration.    (Gen.  50  :  23.     See  notes.) 


§2. 


House  of  Bondage.    Ch.  1 
7-14. 


7.  The  great  fact  is  here  re- 
corded of  the  large  increase  of  the 
covenant  people — the  children  of 
Israel — and  there  is  a  heaping  up  of 
terms  to  express  it — were  fruitful 
— brought  forth  young,  as  animals, 
or  fruit,  as  plants,  and  increased 
abundantly,  swarmed  like  fish  and 
multiplied,  became  numerous  and 
waxed,  exceeding  mighty,  from  a 
verb  based  on  a  noun  meaning  a 
bone  qualified  by  the  duplicated  ad- 
verb exceedingly ,  with  the  preposi- 
tion in,  or  with,  to  denote  the  man- 
ner— in  exceedingly  exceeding  meas- 
ure. And  the  land  was  filled  with 
them.  Goshen,  in  particular  where 
they  were  located,  though  they 
were  also  scattered  in  Lower  Egypt, 
through  the  Delta,  as  we  after- 
wards see.  The  land  was  favorable 
to  their  large  and  rapid  increase, 
and  the  circumstances  also  at  first 
were  highly  favorable,  kept  mainly 
distinct  and  living  on  the  fat  of  the 
land.  (Gen.  47  :  11.)  Besides  all  this, 
the  Divine  promise  had  a  signal 
fulfilment  to  this  effect.  No  miracle 
needs  to  be  supposed.  Egypt  was 
a  land  extraordinarily  fruitful  in 
people  and  cattle.  Aristotle,  Hist. 
Animal  and  Bosenmuller  Mor gen- 
land  1.  p.  252.) 

8.  Now  there  arose  up.  To  show 
that  the  growth  of  the  people  is 
not  to  be  explained  by  continued 
favor  of  the  government,  nor  by  con- 


tinued power  of  Joseph,  but  that  it 
came  to  pas3  in  spite  of  opposition 
and  oppression,  it  is  here  stated 
that  another  king  came  into  power, 
a  new  king,  of  new  policy — prob- 
ablv  of  a  new  dvnastv.  See  1  Kings 
3  :  12.  2  Kings  23  :  23.  Who  knew 
not  Joseph — who  had  no  regard  for 
Joseph,  and  ignored  his  claims. 
This  is  the  scriptural  sense  of  the 
term.  Joseph  had  been  40  years 
dead,  and  it  had  been  100  years 
since  he  was  prime  minister,  and  no 
wonder  that  a  new  king  should  for- 
get or  disregard  his  services  long 
past.  Acts  7  :  18.  The  Egyptian 
chronology  leaves  us  in  some  un- 
certainty as  to  the  dynasty  which 
now  reigned.  If  the  Shepherd  kings 
were  they  in  whose  time  Joseph  and 
Jacob  had  come  to  Egypt,  and  they 
were  now  expelled  and  supplanted 
by  the  ancient  Theban  kings,  then 
we  can  see  how  Jacob's  descendants, 
as  a  shepherd  race,  would  be  held  in 
suspicion.  But  the  chronology  is 
much  disputed,  as  is  all  the  Egyptian 
chronology.  Bunsen  makes  the  king 
under  whom  Joseph  was  ignored  to 
have  been  Thothmes,  of  the  18th 
dynasty.  Lepsius  contends,  and  so 
do  most  Egyptologists,  for  Rameses 
II.,  (Sesostris)  19th  dynasty.  A 
recent  authority  says  :  "The  calm 
judgment  of  history  confirms  the 
stigma  placed  upon  him  by  the 
Bible  (Exodus)  as  the  oppressor  of 
the  Hebrews."  Lenormant  and  Che- 
valier p.  257.  Others  think  that  this 
change  of  dynasty  was  earlier  and 
an  invasion  of  the  shepherd  rule 
under  which  Joseph  flourished,  and 
that  it  was  an  Assyrian  conqueror, 
now  come  to  power.  (Smith's  Diet. 
Pharaoh.)  There  were  probably 
different  kings  at  this  time  at  differ- 


EXODUS. 


ent  capitals  of  what  is  now  known 
as  Egypt ;  especially  at  Thebes  and 
Memphis  ;  and  the  shepherd  kings 
may  have  been  located  at  Bubastis 
or  On,  near  Memphis  and  near  to 
Goshen.  According  to  Osburn  it 
would  seem  that  the  era  of  Osor- 
tasen  I.,  (12th  dynasty)  was  next 
after  the  era  of  the  Pyramids.  He  is 
called  "the  sun  of  the  world  (mak- 
ing) offerings."  His  successors  held 
their  court  at  Abydos,  in  Upper 
Egypt,  while  another  race  of  mon- 
archs  had  their  seat  at  Memphis, 
in  Lower  Egypt.  The  names  of 
two  of  these  have  been  discovered 
in  tombs  in  the  burial  place  of 
Ancient  Memphis.  The  tombs  in- 
dicate a  high  advance  of  art.  The 
Pharaoh  to  whom  Joseph  was  prime 
minister  was  according  to  Manetho 
named  Aphophis.  The  next  era 
was  that  of  Amosis  called  "Aveng- 
ing Lord  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Egypt."  And  between  his  acces- 
sion and  that  of  Osortasen,  a  period 
of  1 50  years  or  thereabouts,  six 
kings  reigned.  This  Amosis  ex- 
pelled the  shepherd  kings  and 
gained  the  throne  of  all  Egypt.  It 
was  the  golden  age  of  Egyptian 
history.  This  was  after  the  death 
of  Joseph  and  his  generation.  Go- 
shen, as  it  lay  between  Egypt  and 
Canaan,  was  open  to  alliances  of  the 
neighboring  nations  from  among 
whom  the  Israelites  had  come.  The 
prosperity  of  this  immigrant  people 
excited  the  jealousy  of  the  native 
kings  even  after  they  had  subjected 
them.  Hence  this  policy  of  bondage 
to  reduce  them  and  crush  them  out. 
This  Amosis  or  one  of  his  imme- 
diate successors  was  the  new  king 
who  knew  not  Joseph,  which  would 
make  the  epoch  that  of  the  18th 
dynasty,  or  nearly  so.  Osburn,  p.  9. 
So  Speaker's  Commentary. — Osburn 
says  :  There  were  16  kings  in  the 
18th  dynasty  who  reigned  for  about 
348  years  And  under  the  last  of 
these  the  Exodus  took  place,  and 
Egypt  never  recovered  from  the 
blow  which  this  event  inflicted  on 
her  prosperity.     Osburn,  p.  10.     See 


also  the  histories  of  Manetho  pre 
served  by  Josephus.  See  Essay  in 
Speak.  Commentary,  vol.  i,  p.  443. 
But  it  is  doubtful  whether  there 
were  foreign  kings  reigning  in 
Egypt  during  the  Israelitish  so- 
journ, and  Manetho's  accounts  are 
very  legendary.  This  Egyptian 
historian  Manetho  has  referred  to 
the  Exodus,  but  in  a  distorted 
narrative.  The  Hebrews  are  re- 
presented as  leprous  and  impious 
Egyptians,  who  were  under  the 
headship  of  a  priest  of  Heliopolis, 
named  Osarsiph  (Joseph),  or  Moses, 
and  who  rebelled  on  account  of  op- 
pression  and  occupied  a  city  called 
Avaris  (Hebrew),  and  by  the  aid  of 
the  people  of  Jerusalem,  they  sub- 
dued Egypt  and  held  it  for  13 
years,  but  were  at  last  defeated  by 
the  Egyptian"  king  and  driven  to 
the  borders  of  Syria.  Moses  is 
here  miscalled  a  priest  of  Helio- 
polis, and  then  confounded  with 
Joseph,  marrying  a  daughter  of 
Potipherah,  priest  of  On.  "Avaris" 
is  a  disguise  of  the  term  "Hebrew." 
Osarsiph  is  a  corruption  of  Joseph, 
and  in  this  way  of  indistinct  refer- 
ence, we  have  as  much  as  we 
might  expect  from  the  Egyptian 
historian  in  recording  such  a  shame- 
ful chapter  of  their  history.  This 
city  Avaris  which  was  assigned  by 
the  king  to  these  leprous  persons  is 
said  by  Manetho  to  have  been  aban- 
doned by  the  shepherds.  It  was  after 
these  offcasts  had  been  sent  to  the 
mines  for  a  long  time.  They  took 
an  oath  to  obey  their  leader,  Moses, 
in  all  things,  and  not  to  worship 
the  gods.  The  narrative  confirms 
the  leading  facts.  (See  Appendix 
A,  p.  168).  Osburn  seems  to  under- 
stand this  of  the  Era  of  Decline, 
and  a  second  invasion  of  the  shep- 
herds, whereby  the  infant  son  of 
the  Exodus  Pharaoh  was  driven  into 
Ethiopia. 

9.  The  crafty  policy  of  the  new 
king  is  here  detailed.  It  was  his 
aim  to  crush  them  out  by  oppres- 
sion, or  at  least  to  control  them. 
The  people  of  Israel  are  represented 


CHAPTER  I. 


29 


9  And  he  said  unto  his  people,  Behold,  the  people  of  the 
children  of  Israel  are  more  and  mightier  than  we  : 

10  Come  on,  let  us  deal  wisely  f  with  them  ;  lest  they 
multiply,  and  it  come  to  pass,  that,  when  there  falleth  out  any 
war,  they  join  also  unto  our  enemies,  and  fight  against  us,  and 
so  get  them  up  out  of  the  land. 

11  Therefore  they  did  set  over  them  task-masters,  to  afflict 
them  s  with  their  burdens.  And  they  built  for  Pharaoh  treas- 
ure-cities, Pi  thorn  and  h  Raamses. 


f  Ps.  83:  3,  4.    g  ch.  37.    h  Ge.  47:  11. 


as  more  and  mightier  than  the 
Egyptians,  though  they  had  been 
only  a  little  more  than  a  century  in 
the  land.  If  this  king  was  Rameses 
II.,  (Sesostris)  of  the  19th  dynasty, 
it  is  held  that  the  kingdom  of 
Lower  Egypt  had  become  greatly  re- 
duced by  the  internal  disorders  of 
immigrating  tribes  from  Canaan, 
Moabites  and  Israelites,  and  that 
this  king  sought  to  reduce  the 
whole  land  under  one  rule,  and 
having  succeeded  at  length,  he 
sought  to  crush  the  prosperous  Is- 
raelites by  forced  labors  on  the 
public  works.  Their  domain  was 
the  narrow  Delta  of  the  Nile,  and 
they  were  more  and  mightier  not 
than  the  whole  people  of  Egypt, 
but  than  the  people  of  this  king  at 
this  time,  or  than  the  native  popu- 
lation in  that  district,  or  more  in 
proportion  to  the  space  occupied,  or 
it  is  an  exaggerated  statement  of 
this  king  as  a  pretext  for  the  op- 
pression. 

10.  Let  us  deal  wisely.  Heb. 
Deal  adroitly  with  him — the  people 
Israel.  The  word  means  to  deal 
with  deep  device  of  worldly  wisdom, 
political  craft,  diplomacy.  It  is 
plain  that  the  monarch  was  in  cir- 
cumstances to  dread  an  outbreak  of 
tear  from  one  or  other  quarter.  He 
was  probably  subject  to  annoyance 
from  surrounding  enemies,  and 
from  such  as  made  him  fear  espe- 
cially, that  this  people  of  Israel 
would  form  alliance  with  them,  and 
thus  would  make  common  cause 
against  the  monarch,    and    would 


then  quit  the  land  for  Canaan.  The 
term  "go  up"  here  used,  is  the  term 
for  going  up  to  Canaan.  Gen.  13  :  1. 
He  seems  thus  to  have  known  of 
the  land  whence  they  came.  He 
was  fearful  that  they  would  achieve 
their  independence. 

11.  The  policy  adopted  to  meet 
such  case  was  to  set  over  them  task- 
masters— (lit)  masters  of  burdens — 
bailiffs  over  the  serfs — (Delitzsch) 
chiefs  of  tributes,  Sp.  Com.  (Gr.) 
masters  of  works,  or  labors — over- 
seers-in-chief. These  were  common 
in  Eastern  lands — overseers,  armed 
with  a  whip  or  stick,  to  bastinado 
the  lazy  workmen  who  were  driven 
in  gangs  of  tens  and  hundreds. 
Thus  the  Hebrews  were  made  to  be 
serfs,  and  degraded  to  the  lowest, 
most  menial  condition,  so  as  to 
break  their  spirit  by  the  bondage, 
and  check  their  increase  and  thrift. 
Captives  were  employed  on  the 
public  works  of  Egypt,  and  on 
some  of  the  monuments  are  inscrip- 
tions that  no  free  citizen  had  been 
employed  upon  the  building.  To 
afflict  them,  lit.,  to  bend  them  down 
— wear  out  their  strength — by  hard 
feudal  labor,  according  to  the  policy 
of  oppressors.  *|f  And  they  built. 
And  so  (Israel)  built — was  compelled 
to  build— for  Pharaoh,  treasure  cities 
— storage  cities,  supply  cities,  for 
storing  up  the  harvests  for  the  de- 
mands of  trade  and  for  time  of 
war.  The  Gr.  has  fortified  cities, 
and  it  is  probable  that  they  were 
such.  The  context  implies  that  it 
would  be  in  the  immediate  vicinity 


30 


EXODUS. 


12  But  the  more  they  afflicted  them,  the  more  they  multi- 
plied and  grew.  And  they  were  grieved  because  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel. 

13  And  the  Egyptians  made  the  children  of  Israel  to  serve 
with  rigour: 

14  And  they  made  their  lives  *  bitter  with  hard  bondage, 
in  mortar,  and  in  brick,  k  and  in  all  manner  of  service  in  tiie 
field:  all  their  service,  wherein  they  made  them  serve,  was 
with  rigour.  1 

i  ch.  2:  23.     k  Na.  3:  14.     1  Lev.  25:  43;  Is.  5S:  6;  Jc.  50:  33. 


of  Goshen,  where  they  abode,  and 
the  fact  that  Goshen  lay  along  the 
eastern  frontier,  where  warlike 
operations  were  constantly  required 
by  the  aggressions  of  the  Canaan- 
ites  strengthens  the  conclusion.  Os- 
burn.  •[[  Pithom.  This  is  held  by 
Wilkinson  to  be  Thoum,  on  the  E. 
bank  of  the  Nile,  about  12  Roman 
miles  from  Heliopolis.  Osburn  finds 
the  Hieroglyph  of  Uamietta  to  be 
the  same  with  Pithom,  and  thinks 
the  locality  favors  the  supposition. 
But  it  is  probably  too  far  to  the 
north.  Raamses  answers  to  an  in- 
scription found  on  such  a  city,  a 
compound  word  of  Hebrew  mean- 
ing, "  the  stronghold,  the  fortified 
city  of  Raamses.''  (Migdol-raamses.) 
It  may  be  that  they  were  compelled 
to  name  it  in  Hebrew  as  a  mem- 
orial of  their  degradation.  Migdol 
is  referred  to  in  ch.  14  :  2,  "between 
Migdol  and  the  Sea" — the  Red  Sea, 
or  Gulf  of  Suez.  Osbum  thinks  it 
probable  that  this  Migdol  is  the 
same  with  Raamses,  and  then  Pit- 
hom (if  Damietta)  would  be  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  eastern 
frontier  of  Egypt,  and  Raamses 
at  the  southern  extremity.  They 
were  built  for  the  supply  and  de- 
fence of  Egypt  against  the  inva- 
sions of  the  Canaanites.  Hengsten- 
berg  thinks  that  Raamses  was  not 
near  Heliopolis,  but  that  it  is  on  the 
site  of  Aboo-Keisheid,  which  is  on 
the  Canal  about  13  French  leagues 
from  the  Red  Sea.  (Egypt  and  Mo- 
ses). And  this  is  the  more  probable 
opinion,  and   that    Pithom   is   the 


same  as  the  Patumos  of  Herodotus 
near  Bubastis  on  the  Canal  connect- 
ing the  Nile  with  the  Red  Sea.  The 
scholars  who  accompanied  the 
French  Expedition  placed  Pithom 
on  the  site  of  the  present  village  of 
Abasseh,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Wady  Sumilat,  where  there  was  at 
all  times  a  strong  military  post. 
"  Raamses  then  lay  N.  W.  of  the 
Bitter  Lakes,  and  Pithom  a  few 
miles  farther  west,  both  in  the  land 
of  Goshen,  or  of  Raamses."  So 
Speakers'  Com.  says,  "  Both  cities 
were  on  the  Canal  which  had  been 
dug  or  enlarged  long  before  under 
Osortasen  of  the  12th  dynasty.  Pi- 
thom means  '  House,  or  Temple  of 
Thum  (or  Turn)  the  Sun-God  of  He- 
liopolis." p.  251. 

12.  But — The  signal  failure  of 
this  scheme  is  here  noted.  Lit. — As 
they  afflicted  them,  so  they  multiplied. 
In  very  proportion  to  the  oppres- 
sion was  their  multiplication.  This 
seemed  only  to  advance  those  whom 
they  sought  to  check  and  control. 
This  was  vexatious  to  the  Egyptian 
authorities.  And  they  icere  grieved 
— dismayed — alarmed,  because  of 
the  children  of  Israel.  There  was 
something  in  all  this,  which  gave 
evidence  of  a  higher  power  work- 
ing in  their  behalf. 

13,  14.  Instead  of  ceasing  their 
oppressions,  they  were  goaded  on  by 
a  relentless  passion  to  press  these 
measures  to  the  full.  And  they 
made  the  children  of  Israel  to  serve 
with  rigor — lit. — with  crushing  se- 
verity— And    they    embittered  their 


CHAPTER  I. 


31 


lives  with  hard  servitude.  Their  very 
chagrin  at  ill-success  made  them 
more  severe.  And  this  was  only  the 
means  by  which  the  people  were  to 
be  driven  to  revolt.  w~  In  mortar, 
in  brick,  etc.  The  remains  of  brick 
structures  in  Egypt  have  silenced 
the  cavil  against  this  record  ;  and 
they  who  have  alleged  that  brick- 
making  was  not  practised  in  Egypt 
have  been  met  by  the  ample  proof 
of  this  history.  In  1851,  I  visited 
the  Pyramids  at  Sakhara,  which  are 
of  brick.  And  specimens  of  pottery 
(of  mortar — potter's  clay)  I  saw  and 
handled — especially  the  earthen  jars 
in  which  the  Em — the  sacred  bird  of 
the  Egyptians — is  sealed  up  and  de- 
posited in  the  tombs.  Piles  of  these 
by  the  thousand  unbroken  —  and 
heaps  of  the  broken  jars  lie  at  the 
entrance  of  these  tombs  —  show, 
at  least,  how  extensively  this  earth- 
en ware  was  manufactured,  as  is 
here  indicated.  In  a  painting  found 
in  the  tomb  of  Roschere  at  Thebes, 
foreigners  are  represented  engaged 
at  this  servile  work  in  mortar  and 
brick ;  some  busy  upon  the  clay 
and  some  upon  the  finished  brick. 
Moseliini  says  of  the  figures  :  "  Some 
laborers  are  employed  in  transport- 
ing the  clay,  and  some  in  intermin- 
gling it  with  straw — others  in  taking 
the  bricks  out  of  the  form  and  plac- 
ing them  in  rows.  Still  others  with 
a  piece  of  wood  upon  their  backs, 
and  ropes  on  each  side,  carrying 
away  the  bricks  already  burned  or 
dried."  Native  overseers  (taskmas- 
ters) are  standing  beside  them  with 
sticks  uplifted  in  hand.  Professor 
Onger,  of  Vienna,  has  examined  the 
bricks  of  the  pyramid  at  Dashour, 
and  he  has  found  chopped  straw  in 
the  texture  of  the  bricks.  Herodo- 
tus also  mentions  such  a  mode  of 
brick-making  with  straw.  Wilkin- 
son says :  "  Brick-making  was  fol- 
lowed by  only  the  meanest  in  the 
community,  who  had  not  even  the 
satisfaction  of  working  for  them- 
selves, for  it  was  a  government  mo- 
nopoly, and  the  pay  for  a  tale  of 
them  was  a  small  remuneration  for 


this  laborious  drudgery  in  mud. 
They  had  the  recommendation  of 
cheapness,  and  also  of  durability,  in 
that  dry  climate  ;  and  those  made 
3,000  years  ago,  whether  with  or 
without  straw,  are  even  now  as  firm 
and  fit  for  use  as  in  the  reigns  of 
the  Amunophs  and  Thotmes,  whose 
names  they  bear.  When  made  of 
the  Nile  mud,  or  of  alluvial  deposit, 
they  required  straw  to  prevent  their 
cracking.  Slaves  and  captives  were 
set  at  this  work.  The  Jews  were 
employed  in  erecting  granaries,  trea- 
sure cities,  and  many  public  monu- 
ments for  the  Egyptian  monarch. 
To  meet  with  Hebrews  in  the  sculp- 
tures cannot  reasonably  be  expect- 
ed (he  says),  since  the  remains  of 
that  part  of  Egypt  where  they  lived 
have  not  been  preserved.  But  it  is 
curious  to  observe  other  foreign 
captives  occupied  in  like  manner, 
and  overseen  by  similar  taskmasters, 
and  performing  the  same  labors,  as 
the  Israelites  described  in  the  Bible  ; 
and  no  one  can  look  at  the  paint- 
ings of  Thebes,  representing  brick- 
makers,  without  feelings  of  the 
highest  interest."  Vol.  II.,  Chap, 
viii.,  pp.  195-6-7.  "  There  is  no  in- 
timation that  the  Israelites  were 
employed  in  building  pyramids, 
which  were  erected  by  kings  of 
Lower  Egypt,  with  few  exceptions, 
long  before  this  period."  Sp.  Com. 
Their  features  mark  them  as  He- 
brews. Such  historians  as  Heeren 
admit  the  striking  confirmation  of 
this  history  here  found,  "  proving 
the  great  antiquity  of  the  Mosaic 
writings,  and  especially  of  this  Book 
of  Exodus." 

14.  Service  in  the  field. — This  was 
especially  in  irrigation  —  digging 
canals  in  all  directions,  and  drawing 
and  carrying  the  water,  besides 
planting,  ploughing,  etc.  We  have 
seen  this  work  extensively  going 
on  there.  Hengstenberg  remarks  : 
"There  is  scarcely  a  country  in  winch 
the  cultivation  of  the  land  requires  so 
much  peculiarly  servile  labor  as  in 
Egypt.  Irrigation  especially  is  there 
very  laborious." — Egypt,  etc.,  p.  86. 


32 


EXODUS. 


15  And  the  king  of  Egypt  spake  to  the  Hebrew  mid  wives  ; 
of  which  the  name  of  the  one  icas  Shiphrah,  and  the  name  of 
the  other  Puah ; 

16  And  he  said,  When  ye  do  the  office  of  a  midwife  to  the 
Hebrew  women,  and  see  them  upon  the  stools,  if  it  be  a  son, 
then  ye  shall  kill  him :  but  if  it  be  a  daughter,  then  she  shall 
live. 

17  But  the  midwives  feared  m  God,  and  did  not  as  the  king 
of  Egypt  commanded  them,  but  saved  the  men-children  alive. 

18  And  the  king  of  Egypt  called  for  the  midwives,  and 
said  unto  them,  Why  have  ye  done  this  thing,  and  have  saved 
the  men-children  alive  ? 

19  And  the  midwives  said  unto  n  Pharaoh,  Because  the 
Hebrew  women  are  not  as  the  Egyptian  women ;  for  they  are 
lively,  and  are  delivered  ere  the  midwives  come  in  unto  them. 

ni  Ne.  5:  15.    n  Jos.  2:  4. 


With  rigor. — Every  service  was 
exacted  with  rigor,  forcibly,  and 
-with  severity. 

Lessons. — The  kingdom  of  dark- 
ness arrays  itself  against  the  king- 
dom of  light.  We  see  the  early 
and  violent  opposition  of  the  world 
to  the  Church.  The  wicked  have 
often  oppressed  the  good.  The  in- 
crease and  prosperity  of  God's  peo- 
ple often  stir  up  relentless  persecu- 
tion. The  presence  of  the  good  is 
an  offence  to  the  profligate  wicked. 
God  is  on  the  side  of  His  people. 
Powers  of  the  world  and  gates  of 
hell  cannot  prevail  against  the 
Church. 

§  3.    The  Male  Children  Doom- 
ed to  Death.     Ch.  1 :  15-22. 

15.  The  monarch,  failing  in  his 
policy  of  oppression  to  check  the 
growth  of  the  people,  resorts  to  an- 
other and  still  more  infamous  plan 
— to  command  the  nurses  to  destroy 
the  male  children  at  their  birth, 
sparing  only  the  female  babes  alive. 
The  midwives  were  those  who  assist- 
ed, as  a  sort  of  female  physicians, 
at  the  birth  of  a  child.  The  plan 
was  to  have  them  take  their  oppor- 
tunity in  the  time  of  delivery  to  kill 
the  child,  as  could  easily  be  done  by 


suffocation  or  strangling.  Upon  the 
stools.  (Lit.)  Upon  the  pair  oj 
stones.  This  was,  perhaps,  an  ar- 
rangement of  some  stone  table  (two 
leaved)  for  receiving  the  new-born 
child — or  perhaps  of  a  stone  seat  or 
a  trough  for  washing  the  child. 
When  ye  see  them  (the  babes,  not 
the  mothers),  etc.,  in  such  condi- 
tion, at  the  very  delivery,  as  to  al- 
low of  this  act  of  violence  without 
arresting  attention.  It  was  the 
males  whom  the  king  dreaded  as 
allies  of  the  enemy.  The  word 
midwives  in  Hebrew  means  those 
bringing  forth,  or  giving  delivery. 

17.  The  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
this  infamous  plan  was,  that  the 
midwives,  being  Hebrews,  feared 
God — (Elohim,  the  Creator,  and  the 
true  God  of  the  Hebrews) — and  such 
reverential  fear  led  them  to  disobey 
the  king's  command.  "  So  did  not 
I,  because  of  the  fear  of  God." 
(Neh.  5  :  15.)  So  sound  a  principle 
is  worthy  of  universal  adoption. 
No  matter  who  commands  us  to  do 
evil,  we  must  obey  God  rather  than 
men.  (Acts  5  :  29.)  A  true  piety 
will  so  affect  our  conduct  as  to  make 
us  shun  iniquity  at  whatever  cost. 

18,  19.  The  king  found  that  his 
command  was  not  executed,  and  he 
sent  for  the  midwives  to  ascertain 


CHAPTER  I. 


33 


20  Therefore  God  dealt  well  °  with  the  midwives :  and  the 
people  multiplied,  and  waxed  very  mighty. 

21  And  it  came  to  pass,  because  the  midwives  feared  God, 
that  he  p  made  them  houses. 

22  And  Pharaoh  charged  all  his  people,  saying,  Every  son 
that  is  born  ye  shall  cast  into  the  river,  and  every  daughter 
ye  shall  save  alive. 


Pr.  li:  18;  Ec. 


12;  Is.  3:  10;  He.  6:  10.    p  ISa.  2:  35;  2Sa.  7:  11;  IKi.  2:  24;  Ps.  127  :1. 


the  reason.  They  replied  that  the 
Hebrew  women  were  unlike  the 
Egyptians,  and  gave  birth  so  readily 
as  not  to  require  the  service  of  the 
midwives.  It  is  very  probable  that 
this  was  more  especially  the  case 
at  this  time,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  for  this  very  baffling  of  the 
monarch's  plan.  We  cannot  think 
the  reply  a  mere  pretext,  or  that  it 
would  have  been  justifiable  to  so 
deceive.  Besides  the  women  would 
delay  to  send  for  the  midwives,  or 
decline  to  do  it  altogether,  so  soon 
as  they  knew  of  Pharaoh's  order, 
so  that  the  birth  would  take  place 
before  their  arrival.  ®f  Lively—full 
of  life — strong,  vigorous.  This  is 
characteristic  of  the  Orientals. 

20.  God  did  good  to  the  mid- 
wives — prospered  and  rewarded  them 
for  their  fidelity  against  the  king's 
command,  and  the  result  was  the 
great  increase  of  the  people  and 
their  growing  power. 

21.  The  fidelity  and. piety  of  the 
midwives  led  to  the  signal  building 
up  of  the  people,  and  of  themselves 
specially — though  the  pronoun  here 
is  in  the  masculine — he  made  them 
houses.  It  is,  therefore,  to  the  honor 
of  the  midwives,  and  their  firm  and 
pious  principle,  that  the  building 
up  of  the  Hebrew  households  went 
forward.  This  is  the  specific  form, 
so  important  for  the  history,  in 
which  God  signalized  His  favor — as 
the  God  of  the  households  of  His 
people.     2  Sam.  7:11. 

22.  The  king,  even  more  incensed 
at  being  thus  baffled,  made  a  still 
more  desperate  resort.  He  com- 
manded all  his  people  to  cast  into 
the  river  (Nile)  every  Hebrew  son 


that  was  new-born.  This  command 
may  have  been  specially  given  to 
certain  officers,  but  it  was  also  pub- 
lished in  that  district.  They  were 
already  so  strong  and  numeTous  as 
to  make  the  king  anxious  thus  to 
check  and  curb  them,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent their  rebellion  and  removal,  or 
their  alliance  with  his  enemies.  He 
valued  them  as  slaves,  but  he  feared 
lest  they  might  become  masters. 
And  so  the  king  issued  his  cruel 
edict,  which,  to  the  Old  Testament 
Church  in  its  infancy,  was  like  that 
of  Herod  against  the  New  Testa- 
ment Church  in  its  beginning.for  the 
slaughter  of  the  Bethlehem  babes. 

Lessons.  —  No  device  formed 
against  the  people  of  God  shall  per- 
manently prosper,  (b.)  "  Wrath 
is  cruel  and  anger  is  outrageous, 
(a  torrent)  but  who  is  able  to  stand 
before  envy  ?  "  {Prov.  27  :  4.)  (c.)  A 
pious  woman  may  defeat  a  power- 
ful king  by  faith  and  faithfulness. 
(d.)  God  will  bless  those  who  fear 
and.  serve  Him ;  will  protect  the 
weak  in  dangers,  and  will  prosper 
the  nation  by  their  means,  (e.) 
"  Evil  men  and  seducers  shall  wax 
worse  and  worse."  (/.)  Affliction 
becomes,  under  God,  a  means  of 
growth  and  strength,  (g.)  Trust  in 
our  covenant  God  is  rewarded  with 
deliverance.  "  None  of  them  that 
trust  in  Him  shall  be  desolate." 

CHAP.  II. 

§  4.    Birth  of  Moses.     Ch.  2 :  1- 
10. 

While  God  was  developing  the 
strength  of  the  people  by  affliction, 


34 


EXODUS. 


CHAPTER  II. 

AND  there  went  a  man  a  of  the  house  of  Levi,  and  took  to 
wife  a  daughter  of  Levi. 

2  And  the  woman  conceived  and  bare  a  son ;  and  when  she 
saw  him  that  he  icas  a  goodly  child,  she  hid  him  b  three  months. 

3  And  when  she  could  not  longer  hide  him,  she  took  for  him 
an  ark  of  bulrushes,  and  daubed  it  with  slime  and  with  pitch, 
and  put  the  child  therein  ;  and  she  laid  it  in  the  flags  by  the 
river's  brink. 


ach. 


•20. 


b  Ac.  7:  20;  He.  11:  23. 


He  was,  at  the  same  time,  preparing 
out  of  the  affliction,  to  bring  forth 
a  Deliverer.  While  Pharaoh  was 
seeking  to  cripple  and  check  them, 
God  was  working  to  baffle  Pharaoh, 
and  to  free  them  from  his  oppression, 
and  this  in  the  most  unexpected 
manner.  God  also  makes  the  wick- 
ed court  of  Pharaoh  to  aid  indirectly 
in  the  preparation  of  Moses  for  the 
work  of  deliverance.  Bunsen  says, 
that  "  History  herself  was  born  on 
that  night  when  Moses  led  forth 
his  countrymen  from  the  land  of 
Goshen."  Strabo  gives  a  faithful 
outline  of  the  Mission  of  Moses,  in 
very  brief  terms,  xvi :  760.  So  He- 
cate us  and  Diodorus  Siculus. 

1-4.  The  parentage  of  Moses 
is  here  given  to  show  his  purely 
Hebraic  origin — of  a  Levitical  fam- 
ily. Aaron  and  Miriam  had  already 
been  born  before  Moses.  Aaron 
was  about  3  years  old  at  Moses' 
birth,  and  as  we  do  not  read  of  his 
encountering  any  peril,  we  infer 
that  the  bloody  edict  was  issued 
very  shortly  before  Moses'  birth. 
Murphy  solves  the  chronological 
difficulty  thus  ;  Le,ri  was  44  years 
old  when  he  came  down  to  Egypt, 
Jochebed  was  born  to  him  say  at 
100,  or  66  years  after  the  immigra- 
tion. Amram  perhaps  a  little  ear- 
lier. For  his  father,  Kohath,  (Exod. 
6:  18,)  may  have  been  20  when  he 
came  to  Egypt,  and  hence  86  when 
Jochebed  was  born.  Probably 
about  50  years  after  that,  the  nephew 
and  aunt  were  married.     There  was, 


as  yet,  no  law  against  such  mar- 
riages. About  14  years  after  their 
marriage  Moses  was  born,  and  he 
was  80  years  old  at  the  Exodus. 
These  numbers  (66  +  50  +  14  +  80 
=  210.)  make  the  period  of  the  so- 
journ in  Egypt,  (p.  18.) 

2.  A  goodly  (Heb.  good.)  So  Gen. 
6  :  2.  Sept.  aareioq.  Stephen  has 
it  aoTetog  to  deco,  fair  (or  beautiful) 
to  God,  or  before  God — a  phrase  for 
exceeding  fair — divinely  beautiful 
—Acts  7  :  20.  Heb.  11 :  23,  There 
was  probably  a  charm  about  his  fea- 
tures which  excited  high  hopes  of 
the  child  from  the  beginning.  Be- 
litzsch  says,  that  the  very  beauty  of 
the  child  was  to  her  a  peculiar  to- 
ken of  Divine  approval,  and  a  sign 
that  God  had  some  special  design 
concerning  him,  Heb.  11 :  23.  %  She 
hid  Jiim.  This  was  her  instinctive 
impulse  — to  conceal  the  child  from 
the  oppressor.  She  succeeded  in 
this  for  the  space  of  three  months. 
This  is  here  attributed  to  the  moth- 
er, but  was  the  work  of  both  pa- 
rents "  because  they  saw  that  he 
was  a  proper  child  "—(or  beautiful) 
Heb.  11  :  23.  This  act  is  ascribed 
to  faith,  and  it  was  faith  in  God's 
covenant  promise. 

3.  An  end  was  put  to  this  suc- 
cessful concealment,  probably  by 
the  vigilant  search  of  the  officers ; 
and  w/ten  she  could  not  longer  hide 
him,  she  took  for  him  an  ark  (chest) 
of  bulrushes.  It  was  a  small  box,  or 
basket,  made  of  the  papyrus,  or 
reed,  which  grew  on  the  banks  of 


CHAPTER  II. 


35 


4  And  his  sister  stood  afar  off  to  wit  what  would  be  done 
to  him. 

5  And  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  came  down  to  wash  her- 
self'at  the  river;  and  her  maidens  walked  along  by  the  river 
side,  and  when  she  saw  the  ark  among  the  flags,  she  sent  her 
maid  to  fetch  it. 

6  And  when  she  had  opened  it,  she  saw  the  child  :  and  be- 
hold, the  babe  wept.  And  she  had  compassion  c  on  him,  and 
said,  This  is  one  of  the  Hebrews'  children. 

c  Ps.  106:  43. 


the  Nile,  to  the  height  of  ten  feet, 
thick  and  strong.  It  was  applied 
to  various  uses,  chiefly  of  paper  and 
boats.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  found,  at 
this  day.  The  word  for  '  ark  '  is  the 
same  as  in  Gen.  6  :  14.  And  here 
again,  it  is  an  ark  of  salvation.  The 
mention  of  this  article  of  bulrushes, 
is  an  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the 
history.  For  in  Egypt  alone  was  it 
used  in  such  manufacture.  Daubed 
it,  smeared  it  with  asphaltum,  or 
elime,  the  bitumen  such  as  that  of 
the  Dead  Sea — or  perhaps,  the  mud 
of  the  Nile,  which  becomes  hard 
and  tough.  This  was  used  to  ce- 
ment it  and  fasten  the  reeds  togeth- 
er compactly  and  fill  up  the  crevices. 
The  pitch  was  used  to  make  it  wa- 
ter-tight. The  ark  of  Noah  was  also 
coated  with  pitch.  She  put  the  child 
therein,  and  she  laid  (it)  in  the  flags 
(weeds)  by  the  river's  brink.  This 
was  her  desperate  resort — as  the 
last  and  only  hope — and  yet,  as  it 
was  done  in  faith  it  was  owned  and 
blessed  of  God.  The  basket  was 
laid  not  in  the  water,  but  among  the 
reeds, "  by  the  side  of  one  of  the  ca- 
nals of  the  Nile,  whence  it  floated 
down  the  stream,"  Stanley.  The 
believing  parent  was  led  to  place 
the  child  just  where  and  how  was 
best  calculated  to  secure  the  issue. 
(The  spot  is  marked  by  tradition  as 
the  Isle  of  Rodah,  near  old  Cairo.) 
She  knew  perhaps  that  the  King's 
daughter  was  accustomed  to  bathe 
there.  Accordingly  his  sister  (Miri- 
am) stationed  herself  {stood)  afar  off 
(out  of  sight)  to  witness  what  loould 
be  done  to  him.     The  plan  was  laid 


with  this  end  in  view  and  in  the 
hope  to  have  the  child  taken  in 
charge  by  the  King's  daughter. 
It  was  a  true  faith  that  used  the 
means  diligently  while  firmly  trust- 
ing the  issue  to  God. 

5-10.  Now  occurs  the  anxiously 
awaited  event,  which  proved  the 
plan  to  be  a  success.  The  daughter 
of  Pharaoh,  came  down  to  the  river 
Nile  to  bathe.  This  is  the  meaning 
of  the  word  here  used,  and  not  to 
wash  clothes,  as  Adam  Clarke  sup- 
poses. We  have  here  some  clue  to 
the  residence  of  the  Pharaohs  and  of 
Moses'  family.  The  place  must 
have  been  near  the  Nile — but  not 
where  crocodiles  were  found. 
Hence  not  at  On,  or  Heliopolis, 
which  is  too  far  off,  and  not  near 
Memphis,  but — according  to  the  tra- 
ditions recorded  by  Eutychius — at 
the  ancient  Avaris — which  name  is 
traced  to  the  name  for  Hebrew — 
avar — and  which  is  the  same  with 
TiOan,  on  the  Tanitic  branch  of  the 
river  near  the  sea,  where  crocodiles 
are  never  found,  and  which  was 
probably  the  western  boundary  of 
the  district  occupied  by  the  Israel- 
ites. The  field  o  f  Zoan  is  the  place 
associated  by  the  Hebrews  with  the 
wonders  which  preceded  the  Exo- 
dus. Ps.  78 :  43."  Quatremeres. 
The  Nile  was  regarded  as  sacred, 
and  this  female  bathing  in  the  river 
was  the  custom  as  appears  from 
pictures  on  the  monuments.  Wilkin- 
son III.  p.  389.  Ladies  of  high  rank 
with  their  female  attendants  are  rep- 
resented as  bathing  in  the  sacred 
river,  and  it  was  regarded  as  an  act 


36  EXODUS. 

7  Then  said  his  sister  to  Pharaoh's  daughter,  Shall  I  go  and 
call  to  thee  a  nurse  of  the  Hebrew  women,  that  she  may  nurse 
the  child  for  thee? 

8  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said  to  her,  Go.  And  the  maid 
went  and  called  the  child's  mother. 

9  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said  unto  her,  Take  this  child 
away  and  nurse  it  for  me,  d  and  I  will  give  thee  thy  wages,  and 
the  woman  took  the  child,  and  nursed  it. 


d  Ps  27:  10. 


of  special  sanctity  and  a  religious 
solemnity  ; — sometimes  an  introduc- 
tion of  a  sacred  festival  (as  of  the 
new  moon).  It  was  also  supposed 
to  impart  health  and  vigor  and  to 
prolong  life.  This  daughter's  name 
(according  to  Josephus)  was  Ther- 
tnutis.  If  Sesostris  Rameses  II) 
was  the  new  king  his  daughter  was 
Thuoris,  "  Thermutis  was  married 
to  the  infant  heir  of  the  throne  of 
Lower  Egypt,  and  thus  became  vir- 
tually regent  over  the  Delta.  She 
adopted  a  son  in  lack  of  any  of  her 
own.  (Israel  in  Egypt,  p.  285).  Her 
maidens  walked  along  (as  attendants) 
upon  the  river  bank  awaiting  her 
orders.  And  she  saw  the  ark  (box) 
in  the  midst  of  the  weeds  (or  flags) 
and  she  sent  her  body  servant  (the 
word  is  different  from  the  previous 
and  means  her  special  attendant) 
and  took  it  up. 

6.  And  she  opened  (it)  -  (uncov- 
ered the  box)  and  saw  him,  the  child, 
— and  lo !  a  male  child,  weeping. 
She  discovered  it  to  be  the  child, 
and  lo,  a  boy  weeping  !  This  vivid- 
ly describes  the  scene  in  briefest 
terms.  She  saw  that  it  was  a  He- 
brew babe  by  the  mark  of  circum- 
cision, and  she  was  sparing  of  it — 
carefully  treated  it — cared  for  it — 
and  said  of  the  children  of  the  He- 
brews is  this."  "  No  tale  of  romance 
ever  described  a  plot  more  skilfully 
laid  or  more  full  of  interest  in  the  de- 
velopment." "  She  is  aware  of  the 
royal  edict,  and  comprehends  the 
whole  affair  at  a  glance,"  Murphy. 
We  may  suppose  the  scheme  to  have 
been  due  to  a  Divine  suggestion,  as 


the  success  was  due  to  divine  Provi- 
dence, and  the  actuating  principle 
was  faith — the  faith  in  the  Divine 
Promise.     Heb.  11  :  23. 

7.  Then,  upon  hearing  the  ex- 
clamation of  the  King's  daughter — 
his  sister  said  unto  her,  Shall  I  go 
etc.  A  most  natural  and  timely 
suggestion,  to  procure  a  nurse  from 
the  Hebrew  women  for  this  Hebrew 
child.  The  suggestion  was  ap- 
proved. She  said  go!  And  the 
maid  went  and  called  the  child's 
mother.  This  plan  seems,  at  least, 
worthy  of  a  Divine  origin.  The 
babe  is  thus  restored  to  its  natural 
nourisher  and  protector.  And  the 
glad  mother  rejoices  in  the  welcome 
task.  And  God's  purpose  is  accom- 
plished by  these  various  and  com- 
plicated agencies ;  weaving  the  net- 
work of  His  eternal  counsels  by  so 
many  threads  and  bringing  out  so 
beauteous  a  picture.  Murphy  sup- 
poses that  the  sister  Miriam  was 
about  13  years  old  at  this  time. 

9.  Pharaoh's  daughter,  at  once, 
engages  this  Hebrew  woman  to 
nurse  the  child,  not  knowing,  how- 
ever, of  the  relation  between  them, 
— Take  this  child  away  and  nurse  it 
for  me,  and  I  will  give  thee  thy  wages. 
The  glad  mother  is  only  too  happy 
to  do  this,  and  her  wages  already 
will  be  found  in  the  welcome  ma- 
ternal service.  The  dear  doomed 
boy  is  in  her  arms  again — rescued 
from  a  watery  grave.  "  A  literary 
education  was  the  prime  condition 
for  admission  to  the  public  service," 
Sp.  Com. 

10.  The    woman    was  the  best 


CHAPTER  II. 


37 


10  And  the  child  grew,  and  she  brought  him  unto  Pha- 
raoh's daughter,  and  he  became  her  son.  And  she  called  his 
name  Moses  ;  and  she  said,  Because  I  drew  him  out  of  the 
water. 


nurse  that  could  have  been  found — 
and  no  wonder  that  the  child  grew — 
and  she  brought  him,  in  course  of 
time,  unto  Pharaoh's  daughter.  The 
verb  is  used  in  Gen.  21 :  8,  of  being 
weaned.  But  it  would  seem  that  he 
was  early  trained  in  the  divine  relig- 
ion, and  was  old  enough  to  receive 
such  impressions  as  were  never  lost 
in  all  his  Egyptian  living.  And  he 
became  her  son,  was  adopted  by  the 
King's  daughter.  The  mother, 
doubtless,  brought  him  to  her  with 
a  lawful  pride,  and  with  faith  also 
in  his  high  calling — though,  she 
must  have  grieved  to  let  him  go 
from  her  side  to  become  an  heir  of 
the  heathen  court.  And  she  called 
his  name  Moses,  etc.  The  Hebrew 
word  bears  this  meaning  from  the 
verb  to  draw  out.  Gesenius  says  it 
means  drawing  out,  not  drawn  out. 
Sp.  Com.  says  the  exact  meaning 
is  "  Son "  but  the  verbal  root 
means '  draw  forth.'  He  was  named 
by  his  mother  at  his  circumcision, 
but  by  what  name  is  not  stated. 
Tradition  has  it  Joachim.  This 
name — Moses — would  naturally  be 
Egyptian,  and  the  reason  for  giving 
this  name  is  stated,  because  1  drew 
him  out  of  the  icater.  Josephus 
states  that  the  word  for  drawn  out 
of  the  water  is  Mouses,  in  Egyptian 
they  call  water  Mo  ;  and  one  drawn 
out  Uses.  And  so  the  Coptic, 
where  Oushe  means  to  save.  The 
Sept.  has  it  Mouses.  But  the  He- 
brews lived  so  long  in  Egypt,  that 
there  would  be  some  mingling  of 
terms  ;  and  the  languages  are  cog- 
nate, and  would  easily  have  the 
same  root  in  both  Heb.  and  Egyp- 
tian. Some  think  that  a  Hebrew 
name  was  designedly  given  to  the 
child.  Hartz  says  in  the  transfor- 
mation of  the  name  from  Egyptian 
Mouje  to  the  Heb.  Moshe,  "  there 
was  an  unintentional  prophecy ;  for 
the  person  drawn,  out  did  become, 


in  fact,  tlie  drawer  out " — that  is 
the  deliverer  of  his  people,  or  "  The 
Israelites  afterwards  formed  out  of 
the  Egyptian  word  the  name  Mo- 
scheh  which  signifies  a  leader  out." 
Von  Oerlach.  He  was  educated  in 
all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians 
(Acts  7  :  22)  and  so  "  the  wisdom  of 
Egypt  was  employed  by  the  wisdom 
of  God  for  the  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,"  Del.  Brugsch 
(hist.  d'Egypte)  renders  the  name 
Mes,  or  Messon  "child  "  as  borne  by 
one  of  the  Princes  of  Ethiopia  un- 
der Rameses  II,  as  also  in  the  names 
Amosis  and  Thuth  mosis. — Stanley. 

At  a  recent  convention  of  Phil- 
ologists  at  Wurzburg,  Dr.  Lanth, 
of  Munich,  read  a  paper  upon 
some  discoveries  which  he  had 
made  in  translating  Egyptian  papy- 
rus rolls — an  account  of  a  personage 
whom  he  believed  to  be  Moses.  He 
finds,  for  instance,  that  the  writer, 
Hui,  accuses  a  person  of  some  con- 
sequence, whose  name  is  Mesu,  of 
haviDg  taken  a  sea-bath,  eaten  fish, 
and  done  other  acts  forbidden  to  the 
priesthood.  It  is  further  related 
that  Mesu  had  made  a  secret  journey 
to  Syria  ;  that  he  had  studied  in 
On  (Heliopolis),  and  had  commanded 
five  thousand  men  during  a  miltary 
campaign ;  but  that  he  was  too 
much  given  to  say  new  things  upon 
religious  matters.  He  is  described  as 
handsome,  and  of  irascible  temper- 
ament. In  addition  to  his  name  of 
Mesu,  which  means  "  child,"  he  has 
another  which  may  be  translated 
"  basket  of  rushes."  The  date  of  the 
report  is  the  fifty-second  year  of  Ra- 
meses, corresponding  to  1525  b.  c. 

§  5.    Moses'     Patriotism      and 
His  Flight.    Ch.  2  :  11-25. 

11.  In  those  days,  etc.  The  his- 
torian passes  at  once  to  a  great  crisis 


cs 


EXODUS. 


11  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,  when  Moses  was 
grown,  that  he  went  out  unto  his  brethren,  and  looked  on  their 
burdens  :  e  and  he  spied  an  Egyptian  smiting  an  Hebrew,  one 
of  his  brethren. 

12  And  he  looked  this  way  and  that  way,  and  when  he  saw 
that  there  teas  no  man,  he  slew  the  Egyptian,  and  hid  him  in 
the  sand. 


ech.1:  11;  Ac.  7:  23-24;  He.  11:  24-26. 


in  the  life  of  Moses,  when  his  love 
of  country  and  people  broke  out. 
An  interval  is  here  passed  over 
which  is  filled  up  by  the  narrative 
of  Stephen  (Acts  7.).  More  than 
forty  years  had  elapsed,  and  he  was 
grown.  The  Sept  has  it — In  those 
many  days — Heb.  And  Moses  grew 
(to  maturity).  Stephen  says,  "  He 
was  mighty  both  in  word  and  deed." 
He  was  moved — as  probably  for 
many  years  past — to  go  out  unto  his 
brethren  and  look  on  their  burdens. 
His  maturity  and  position  at  Court 
were  such,  now,  as  to  make  this  a 
most  natural  and  most  important 
step.  And  it  was  the  free  prompt- 
ing of  his  patriotism  which  he 
drew  in  with  his  mother's  milk,  and 
of  the  strong  faith  by  which  he  was 
moved  to  great  thoughts  and  deeds. 
(Heb.  11:  24-26.).  He  would  also 
be  drawn  toward  his  oppressed 
brethren,  hearing  of  their  burdens, 
and  would  be  prompted  to  examine 
into  their  case  and  commiserate  it. 
It  so  occurred,  in  the  Providence  of 
God,  that  he  was  witness  to  a  per- 
sonal conflict  which  represented  the 
whole  matter.  He  spied  an  Egyp- 
tian smiting  an  Hebrew.  It  was  an 
Egyptian  taskmaster  scourging  one 
of  his  Hebrew  brethren  without  just 
cause,  and  so  cruelly  that  he  seems 
to  have  died  under  the  treatment 
(Acts  7  :  24.).  It  may  indeed  have 
been  a  private  individual  undertak- 
ing arrogantly  to  chastise  (bastinado) 
a  Hebrew,  as  they  felt  bold  to  do 
after  Pharaoh's  oppressive  com- 
mands. At  any  rate  Moses  felt 
called  upon  to.  interfere  in  the 
defence  of  his  brother.  (1.)  This 
was     the     well-established     usage 


among  the  people  of  his  time. 
Avenging  the  blood  of  nearest 
of  kin  and  so,  of  one's  own  people 
or  tribe,  against  one  of  another 
tribe,  was  held  to  be  a  sacred  duty. 
(2.)  He  was  conscious  of  acting 
under  a  prospective  commission  as 
Deliverer  of  his  people.  This  we 
learn  from  Stephen's  narrative  (Acts 
7  :  23-25.).  "  For  he  supposed  his 
brethren  would  have  understood 
how  that  God,  by  his  hand,  would 
deliver  them."  He  was  not  "  im- 
pelled by  a  carnal  ambition  " — but 
lie  had  high  aims,  full  of  patriotic 
ardor,  and  in  the  impulse  of  a  lofty 
faith.  Stephen  cites  the  fact  not  to 
condemn  Moses,  but  to  condemn  the 
Jews  who  understood  not  Moses'  ac- 
tion and  relation  as  coming  Deliv- 
erer (Acts  7  :  25,  26.).  He  is  there- 
fore not  to  be  judged  as  an  assassin, 
as  though  this  had  been  done  in  our 
time,  or  without  strong  extenuation, 
and  something  of  a  Divine  call. 
Augustin  says,  that  "  the  Egyptian 
though  criminal  and  the  offender  in 
the  case,  ought  not  to  have  been 
slain  by  Moses  without  lawful  au- 
thority." Yet  it  was  the  Spirit  of 
the  Coming  Deliverer  rising  within 
him,  and  only  needing  the  formal 
Commission  to  go  forth  to  his  work. 
Moses  was  a  high  personage  at 
Court,  and  may  have  claimed  au- 
thority to  interfere  in  a  case  of 
grievous  oppression  and  wrong. 
But  his  patriotic  ardor  and  warm 
fraternal  sympathy  "  were  precip- 
itated into  action "  by  a  flagrant 
case  before  his  eyes,  suddenly 
sprung  upon  him.  We  cannot  know 
all  the  palliating  facts.  But  Ste- 
phen  refers  to  the  act  without  con- 


CHAPTER  II. 


39 


13  And  when  he  went  out  the  second  day,  behold,  two  men 
of  the  Hebrews  strove  together  ;  and  he  said  unto  him  that  did 
the  wrong,  Wherefore  smitest  thou  thy  fellow  ? 

14  And  he  said,  Who  made  thee  a  prince  and  a  judge  over 
us  ?  intendest  thou  to  kill  me,  as  thou  killedst  the  Egyptian  ? 
And  Moses  feared,  and  said,  Surely  this  thing  is  known. 

15  Now  when  Pharaoh  heard  this  thing,  he  sought  to  slay 
Moses.  But  Moses  fled  from  the  face  of  Pharaoh,  and  dwelt 
in  the  land  of  Midian :  and  he  sat  down  by  a  well. 


demnation  of  it,  and  rather  ranking 
it  as  an  act  of  faith,  in  the  Divine 
Promise  of  Deliverance  to  the  cove- 
nant people.  This  act  is  compared 
by  some  with  that  of  Peter,  whose 
hot  impulse  drew  his  sword  upon  a 
servant  of  the  High  Priest,  in  de- 
fence of  Jesus,  but  was  rebuked 
by  the  Master.  Diodorus  Siculus 
quotes  an  Egyptian  law  which  made 
it  a  capital  crime  not  to  interfere 
for  rescue  in  case  of  assault,  or  not 
to  apprehend  the  murderer.  The 
Law  provided  (afterward)  the  Cities 
of  Refuge  for  cases  of  manslaughter 
(Lev.  35  :  9.).  The  person  slain,  in 
this  case,  being  probably  a  govern- 
ment officer,  Moses  was  liable  to 
punishment.  Biod.  Sic.  He  sought 
to  escape  detection  by  concealing 
the  corpse.  Some  have  objected 
that  there  was  not  sand  enough  in 
this  quarter  to  bury  a  body.  But 
we  took  a  carriage  and  two  horses 
to  drive  out  from  Cairo  to  Heliopo- 
lis — a  few  miles — and  we  found  the 
sand  so  deep  that  we  were  forced  to 
leave  the  carriage  on  the  road,  and 
mount  the  horses.  Besides  at  Mem- 
phis, near  by,  we  saw  an  immense 
Sphinx,  almost  entirely  buried  in 
the  sand.  We  found  the  French 
Engineers  excavating  some  40  feet 
in  the  sand,  to  discover  the  lost  Tem- 
ple of  the  Serapion,  in  that  vicinity 
— the  loose  sand  being  carried  on 
their  heads  in  baskets  by  a  train  of 
little  girls,  and  emptied  at  the  brink 
of  the  excavation.  He  looked  this 
way  and  that  way,  perhaps  to  see  if 
any  one  would  come  to  his  help,  or, 
taking  every  precaution  against  de- 
tection.    If  he  was  acting  in  mere 


anger,  this  would  have  shown  the 
foul  spirit  of  an  assassin.  But  he 
was  a  meek  man  and  a  man  of  faith. 
Mohammed,  in  the  Koran,  follows 
a  Jewish  tradition  that  Moses  re- 
pented of  this  wrong  and  was  for- 
given. 

13,  14.  TJie  second  day,  etc.  Mo- 
ses was  fairly  committed  now  to 
this  great  undertaking.  His  soul 
was  fired  with  this  passion  for  his 
people's  deliverance  in  which  he 
was  to  find  his  life  work.  Two  He- 
brews were  now  seen  by  him  in  a 
personal  conflict — He  interfered  by 
a  fair  and  firm  expostulation  with 
the  wrong-doer.  But  he  was  an- 
swered sharply  and  in  a  way  to 
show  that  this  Hebrew  had  no  idea 
of  him  as  their  future  Deliverer,  but 
was  rather  prejudiced  against  him. 
Besides,  his  bloody  interference  on 
the  previous  day  was  thrown  in  his 
teeth  by  this  enraged  Hebrew : 
showing  that  the  people  were  not 
ready  for  the  idea  of  deliverance. 
The  reply  of  the  wrong-doer  to  Mo- 
ses betrays  a  violent  spirit — Who 
made  thee  or  (Heb)  Who  put  thee  for 
a  man,  a  prince  and  a  judge  over  us  ? 
Prince  implies  the  power,  and 
Judge,  the  right  of  judging.  Mo- 
ses saw,  by  his  further  questions, 
that  his  deed  of  yesterday  was 
known,  and  he  was  alarmed  for  his 
life.  The  Hebrews  themselves,  had 
now  betrayed  him.  Still  he  had  faith 
in  their  covenant  relations  to  God. 
Tf  Thy  fellow,  more  exactly,  thy 
neighbor.  "  The  reproof  was  that 
of  a  legislator  who  established  mor- 
al obligation  on  a  recognized  princi- 
ple," tip.  Com. 


40 


EXODUS. 


16  Now  the  priest  of  Midian  had  seven  daughters  :  and 
they  came  and f  drew  icater,  and  filled  the  troughs  to  water 
their  father's  flock. 

17  And  the  shepherds  came  and  drove  them  away:  but 
Moses  stood  up  and  helped  them,  and  watered  their  flock. 

18  And  when  they  came  to  Reuel  their  father,  lie  said,  How 
is  it  that  ye  are  come  so  soon  to-day  ? 

19  And  they  said,  An  Egyptian  delivered  us  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  shepherds,  and  also  drew  water  enough  for  us,  and 
watered  the  flock. 

20  And  he  said  unto  his  daughters,  And  where  is  he?  Why 
is  it  that  ye  have  left  the  man  ?  call  him  that  he  may  s  eat 
bread. 

f  Ge.  24:  11;  29:  10;  ISa.  9:  11.    g  Ge.  31:  54. 


15.  Pharaoh,  on  hearing  of  Mo- 
ses' bloody  deed,  sought  to  slay  him, 
Accordingly  he  fled  for  his  life.  He 
had  cut  loose  from  the  Court,  and 
had  been  rejected  and  betrayed  by 
his  own  people,  and  what  can  he  do  ? 
He  found  his  way  to  Midian.  It 
was  on  the  W.  shore  of  the  Elanitic 
Gulf  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  was  the 
land  of  Moses'  kindred — as  Midian 
was  the  son  of  Abraham  (Gen.  25  : 
2-4.).  Midian  lay  S.  W.  of  Moab, 
and  extended  far  across  the  Penin- 
sula of  Sinai.  He  sat  down — lonely 
and  disheartened — by  the  well — the 
well-known  resort  of  travellers,  as 
well  as  natives. 

16-20.  This  was  a  pastoral  coun- 
try— flocks  were  kept — and,  as  in 
Syria,  the  females  were  wont  to 
take  them  out  to  water,  Gen.  29  :  6. 
The  Priest  of  Midian.  He  seems 
to  have  been  the  religious  head  of 
the  tribe,  or  branch  of  the  Midian- 
ites  there  located.  In  v.  18  he  is 
called  Beuel  (Eaguel),  Num.  10  :  29, 
but  in  ch.  3 :  1  the  priest  is  called 
Jethro.  Delitzsch  thinks  it  the  same 
person,  as  seems  plain  from  Num. 
10  :  29.  He  may  have  been  also  an 
Elder  in  the  civil  government,  com- 
bining the  two  functions  in  one, 
as  the  word  means  both  prince  and 
priest.  He  retained  the  true  faith 
and  the  worship  of  God.  Some 
wrongly  suppose  that  Jethro  was 
the  official  name.     Gerlach  suggests 


that  Jethro  and  Hobab  were  the 
same  person.  Sp.  Com.  supposes 
Hobab  to  have  been  a  young  broth- 
er of  Jethro,  and  that  Jethro  was 
brother-in-law  of  Moses.  The  seven 
daughters  of  Jethro,  or  Reuel,  were 
tending  the  flock,  and  bringing  them 
to  water.  And  the  shepherds  came 
and  drove  them  away.  This  was  a 
grievance  to  which  the  female  shep- 
herds were  liable — the  stronger  par- 
ty driving  away  the  weaker.  Moses 
interfered,  on  their  behalf,  against 
the  shepherds,  and  watered  their 
flocks.  They  returned  to  their  fa- 
ther, and  explained  to  him  their 
early  arrival  by  reporting  this  ser- 
vice rendered  them  by  Moses,  in 
their  need.  They  called  him  an 
Egyptian,  because  he  probably  wore 
their  dress,  and  spoke  their  tongue, 
or  dialect.  Moses  seems  to  have 
had  a  strong  passion  for  delivering 
the  oppressed,  though  he  was  the 
meekest  man.  The  father  naturally 
inquired  after  this  benefactor  of  his 
helpless  and  exposed  daughters,  and 
is  eager  to  show  him  favor  in  return. 
He  complains  of  them  for  having 
left  their  helper  behind.  But  they 
may  have  been  restrained  by  a  natu- 
ral and  becoming  modesty  from  in- 
viting him  to  their  home.  Call  him 
that  he  may  eat  bread.  He  will  have 
them  invite  him  to  take  a  meal,  and 
be  provided  for.  So  Jacob  was  the 
gainer  by  a  like  service. 


CHAPTER  II. 


41 


21  And  Moses  was  content  h  to  dwell  with  the  man  ;  and 
he  gave  Moses  i  Zipporah  his  daughter. 

22  And  she  bare  him  a  son,  and  he  called  his  name  Ger- 
shora ;  for  he  said,  I  have  been  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land. 

23  And  it  came  to  pass,  in  process  of  time,  that  the  king  of 
Egypt  died  j»  and  the  children  of  Israel  k  sighed  by  reason  of 
the  bondage,  and  they  cried ;  and  their  cry  came  up  unto  God,  * 
by  reason  of  the  bondage. 

24  And  God  heard  their  groaning,  and  God  remembered  his 
covenant  m  with  Abraham,  with  Isaac,  and  with  Jacob. 

25  And  God  looked  upon  the  children  of  Israel,  and  God 
had  respect  unto  them. 

h  Ph.  4"  11.    i  ch.  18:  2.     k  Nu.  20:  16;  De.  26:  7;  Ps.  12:  5.    1  Ge.  18:  20;  ch.3:  9; 
22:  23-27;  De.  24:  15;  Is.  5:  7.    m  Ge.  15:  14;  46:  4;  Lu.  1:  72-74. 


21.  Moses  was  so  well  treated  as 
to  be  satisfied  to  abide  with  Reuel. 
Was  content — was  willing,  or  pleas- 
ed, to  dwell  with  the  man.  And  he 
gave  Moses  Zipporah,  his  daughter. 
The  name  means  birdie — a  littlebird. 
He  probably  acquired  her  by  service 
as  Jacob  gained  Rachel  and  Leah. 

22.  Gershom,  one  of  Moses's  sons 
by  this  Zipporah,  means  banish- 
ment, or  a  sir  anger  there.  This  ex- 
pressed his  fixed  feeling  of  exile, 
for  he  said,  "  i  have  been  a  stranger 
in  a  stra,nge  land." 

23-25.  The  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple immediately  prior  to  the  deliver- 
ance is  here  recorded.  In  process 
of  time  (Heb.).  A  nd  it  came  to  pass 
(in)  after  those  many  days.  The  in- 
terval is  the  forty  years'  period  of 
Moses'  residence  in  Midian  ;  in  the 
course  of  which  time  the  king  died. 
This  may  have  occurred  soon  after 
Moses  left  the  country,  but  his  pol- 
icy of  oppression  was  sharply  fol- 
lowed up  by  his  successors  ;  and 
as  their  bondage  began  before 
Moses'  birth,  so  it  lasted  during 
more  than  eighty  years.  They 
sighed  and  cried  by  reason  of  the 
bondage,  or  hard  slave-labor.  This 
king  who  died  was  the  same  proba- 
bly as  in  verse  15  ;  but  whether  the 
same  with  the  new  king  (Ch.  1  :  8) 
or  not,  does  not  appear  ;  but  it  was 
most  likely  a  successor.  The  Israel- 
ites may  have  hoped  for  some  relief 


in  the  change  of  kings,  and  when 
disappointed  in  this  they  cried  in 
despair  of  such  help,  and  their  cry 
came  up  unto  God,  Deut.  26  :  7.  It  is 
thought  that  when  Moses  declined 
the  honors  of  the  court,  the  king's 
daughter  (Thuoris)  having  come  to 
the  throne,  withdrew  in  disappoint- 
ment to  Upper  Egypt,  and  reigned 
as  guardian  of  her  infant  nephew 
Sethos,  whom  she  now  made  her 
heir.  Seven  years  afterwards  she 
died,  and  Sethos  took  the  throne  of 
Upper  Egypt,  and  on  the  death  of 
Si-phtha  several  years  later  (v.  23) 
he  succeeded  to  the  sovereignty  of 
Lower  Egypt  also.  He  was  a 
shameless  tyrant,  who  increased  the 
burdens  of  the  Hebrews,  "  their 
wages  being  chiefly  paid  by  the  bas- 
tinado."— Grit.  Gom. 

25.  God  heard  .  .  .  remembered 
His  covenant.  This  was  a  covenant 
people,  and  they  were  beloved  for 
the  fathers'  sake.  Promises  made 
to  faithful  Abraham  were  to  be  ful- 
filled in  them.  The  Messianic  hope 
was  the  ever  abiding  foundation  of 
trust  and  solace  to  them  in  their 
bondage.  Accordingly  God  looked 
upon  them  and  had  respect  unto 
them.  (Heb.)  He  saw  them  and 
knew  them — approved  them — recog- 
nized them  approvingly.  Luther — 
He  accepted  them. 

Prayer  is  mighty.  God  is  al- 
mighty to  save.    God  never  forgets 


43 


EXODUS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

IVTOW  Moses  kept  the  flock  of  Jethro  his  father-in-law,  the 
1\  priest  of  Midi  an  ;  and  he  led  the  flock  to  the  back  side  of 
the  desert,  and  came  to  the  mountain  of  God,  a  even  to  Horeb. 
2  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  a  flame 
of  fire,  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush  ;  b  and  he  looked,  and,  behold, 
the  bush  burned  with  fire,  and  the  bush  teas  not  consumed. 

a  ch.  18:  5;  IKi.  19:  8.        b  De.  33:  16;  Is.  63:  9;  Ac.  7:  30. 


His  covenant.  The  prayer  that 
pleads  God's  covenant  finds  Him  a 
covenant  God.  God's  covenant  is  a 
household  covenant,  and  the  baptis- 
mal sacrament  is  precious. 


CHAP.  III. 

§  6.    Call   and    Commission 
Moses.    Ch.  3 :     1-10. 


of 


The  proverb  is  "  When  the  tale 
of  bricks  is  doubled  then  comes  Mo- 
ses." Moses,  who  had  been  so  mar- 
vellously preserved  and  led  forward 
by  Providence  as  a  deliverer  of  his 
people,  now  receives  a  Divine  call 
and  commission  to  this  work.  He 
became  a  shepherd  in  the  employ 
of  his  father-in  law  as  Jacob  had 
been  under  Laban  (Gen.  30  :  28),  see 
ch.  2  :  21.  Jethro  was  priest  of 
Midian  (ch.  2  :  18  )  and  was  the 
same  probably  as  Raguel  or  Reuel. 
See  Numb.  10  :  29.  Moses  led  {was 
feeding,  or  shepherding)  the  flock  to 
the  back-side  of  the  desert — lit. — after 
the  desert  or  beyond  it — (after  pass- 
ing through  the  desert) — west  of  the 
desert. — Gesenius.  Tradition  points 
to  a  valley  N.  of  Jebel  Musa  as  Jeth- 
ro's  Valley — (Wady  Shuweib  or  Sho- 
aib-Hobab).  Jethro's  home  was 
east  of  the  wilderness  and  of  Horeb. 
'  The  mountain  of  God'  is  the  name 
given  to  Mt.  Horeb,  by  the  historian 
Moses  because  it  was  known  by 
that  name  at  the  time  of  his  writing, 
late  in  life,  and  after  these  events, 
here  recorded.  .  It  may,  indeed,  have 
already  received  this  name.  It 
means,    dryness,    from  the  barren, 


rocky  region  where  it  is — the  re- 
gion of  Sinai.  Sp.  Com.  reads,  "  the 
mountain  of  God,  towards  Horeb." 

2.  The  Angel  of  the  Lord — an 
angel  of  Jehovah — is  the  covenant 
angel,  see  Gen.  16  :  7.  God  now  be- 
gan to  appear,  not  as  heretofore,  in 
human  form,  to  the  patriarchs,  but  in 
symbols,  as  here — in  a  flame  of  fire, 
see  Ps.  104  :  4.  "  It  was  in  that  won- 
derful region  of  the  earth  where 
the  grandeur  of  mountains  is  com- 
bined, as  hardly  anywhere  else, 
with  the  grandeur  of  the  desert" 
—Stanley.  ^  A  bush,  lit.—The 
bush,  well-known  and  often  spoken 
of  by  Moses.  "  A  flame  of  fire  like 
that  which  seemed  to  consume  and 
waste  away  His  people  in  the  fur- 
nace of  affliction,  shone  forth  amidst 
the  dry  branches  of  the  thorny  tree, 
and  behold !  the  bush,  the  massive 
thicket,  burned  with  fire  and  the 
bush  was  not  consumed."  This 
was  the  thorn  bush,  the  wild  acacia, 
like  that,  we  suppose,  which  we 
have  seen  growing  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Dead  Sea,  only  of  great- 
er height.  The  meaning  intended 
was  that  God's  presence  in  the  midst 
of  their  fiery  afflictions  preserved 
them  from  being  consumed.  "  He 
chastens  His  people  by  sore  judg- 
ments but  does  not  give  them  over 
to  death."  Others,  as  Kurtz,  think 
it  symbolical  of  the  future  history 
of  Israel,  in  which  God,  as  a  holy 
God,  would  be  consuming  to  them 
in  their  sins,  but  for  a  constant  mir- 
acle. JWot  consumed,  meaning  not 
burned,  not  at  all  injured  by  the 
fire.     Fire  had  done  its  utmost  upon 


CHAPTER  III. 


43 


3  And  Moses  said,  I  will  now  turn  aside,  and  see  this  great 
sight,  why  the  bush  is  not  burned. 

4  And  when  the  Lord  saw  that  he  turned  aside  to  see,  God 
called  unto  him  out  of  the  midst  of  the  bush,  and  said,  c  Moses, 
Moses.     And  he  said,  Here  am  I. 

5  And  he  said,  draw  not  nigh  hither  ;  put  off  thy  shoes  d 
from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy 
ground. 

6  Moreover  he  said,  e  I  am  the  God  of*  thy  father,  the  God 
of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.  And 
Moses  hid  his  face  ;  for  he  was  afraid  to  look  upon  God. 


c  Ge.  22:  1-11;  46; 
Matt.  22:  32. 


2.    dch.  19:  12;  Jos.  5:  15;  Ec.  5:  1.      e  Ge  28:  13;  IKi.  18: 


it ;  the  bush  blazed  with  fire  ;  was 
wrapped  in  flame  ;  but  was  not  dam- 
aged by  the  fire.  Delitzsch  says,  It 
also  served  as  a  prelude  to  God's 
manifestation  on  Sinai  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  covenant  (ch.  19 
and  20)  and  therefore  was  on  that 
spot. 

3.  Moses'  attention  was  fixed  on 
this  strange  sight.  It  was  to  him, 
indeed,  "  this  great  sight — why  the 
bush  is  not  burned."  What  made 
the  sight  so  great  and  notable  was 
the  mystery  why  the  bush  was  not 
consumed — destroyed  by  the  flame. 

4.  The  Lord  Jehovah  is  here  the 
same  as  "  the  Angel  of  Jehovah," 
v.  2.  "  Jehovah "  is  the  name  of 
God  used  to  denote  God  in  redemp- 
tion ;  while  Eloliim,  rendered  "God," 
is  the  term  to  denote  God  in  crea- 
tion. The  divine  names  are  here 
interchanged  with  a  significance  in 
the  mind  of  the  writer.  Delitzsch 
remarks  that  this  precludes  the  idea 
of  Jehovah  being  merely  a  national 
God.  See  ch.  6  :  2.  3.  God  appears 
here  in  nature  as  controlling  nature. 
Law  implies  a  lawgiver,  who  is 
higher  than  the  law. 

It  was  God  in  nature— the  Crea- 
tor— in  the  midst  of  the  bush. 

5.  This  was  the  direct  personal 
call  to  Moses,  out  of  the  midst  of 
this  miraculous  manifestation. 
Moses  responded  as  ready  to  obey 
the  call. 

5.  Draw  not  nigh,  etc.    At  the 


East,  among  Mohammedans,  no  one 
is  allowed  to  enter  a  mosque  with- 
out removing  his  shoes  or  sandals. 
In  Egypt  we  found  this  much  in- 
sisted on — even  at  the  College  of  the 
Howling  Dervishes  at  Cairo.  We 
were  obliged  to  put  off  our  boots  or 
shoes  at  the  door  of  the  mosques, 
but  were  commonly  furnished  with 
straw  slippers,  to  protect  the  feet 
from  the  cold  stone  pavement. 
Sometimes  it  is  allowed  to  slip  these 
over  the  shoes,  but  not  commonly, 
as  the  shoes  or  sandals  in  that  dry 
country  are  supposed  to  be  filthy 
with  dirt.  Even  in  Grecian  tern 
pies  the  priests  and  priestesses  were 
barefooted  in  their  services.  So  the 
Arabs  and  Samaritans,  and  even  the 
Yezidis  of  Mesopotamia  take  off 
their  shoes  on  entering  the  sacred 
places.  See  Delitzsch  for  citation. 
This  removal  of  the  shoes  is  a  con- 
fession of  personal  defilement  in  the 
presence  of  the  Holy  Being  dwell- 
ing there.  The  place  was  made 
holy  by  the  Divine  Presence. 

6.  God  now  announces  Himself 
as  the  covenant  God  of  his  fathers, 
and  thus  reminds  him  of  the  prom- 
ises made  to  the  patriarchs,  now 
about  to  be  fulfilled.  According  to 
the  term  fixed  (Gen.  15  :  13)  [400 
years],  it  was  now  in  the  last  year 
of  the  predicted  exile  and  oppres- 
sion. All  this  was  most  deeply  im- 
pressive to  Moses,  and  he  hid  his 
face,  awe-struck  by  the  presence  of 


44 


EXODUS. 


7  And  the  Lord  said,  I  have  surely  seen  the  affliction  of  my 
people  f  which  are  in  Egypt,  and  have  heard  their  s  cry  by  rea- 
son of  their  task-masters  ;  for  I  know  their  sorrows; 

8  And  I  am  come  down  to  deliver  them  out  of  the  hand  of 
the  Egyptians,  h  and  to  bring  them  up  out  of  that  land  unto  a 
good  land  i  and  a  large,  unto  a  land  k  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey  ;  unto  the  place  of  the  Canaanites,  and  the  Hittites,  and 
the  Amorites,  and  the  Perizzites,  and  the  Hivites,  and  the  Jebu- 
sites. 

9  Now  therefore,  behold,  the  cry  of  the  children  of  Israel  is 
come  unto  me  :  and  I  have  also  seen  the  oppression  wherewith 
the  Egyptians  oppress  them. 

10  Come  now,  therefore,  and  I  will  send  *  thee  unto  Pha- 
raoh, that  thou  mayest  bring  forth  my  people,  the  children  of 
Israel,  out  of  Egypt. 

f  Ne.  9:  9;  Ps.  106:  44:  Is.  63:  9.      g  Ex.  22:  23;  Ps.  145:  19.      h  ch.  6:  6-8;  12:  51. 
i  Nu.  23:  19;   De.  1:  25.     k  De.  26:   9;  Je.  11:  5;  Eze.  20:  6.      1  Ps.  105:  26;   Mi.  6:  4- 


God,  and  afraid  to  look  up.  1  Kings 
19  :  12  ;  Gen.  16  :  13  ;  Isa.  6:1,  5  ; 
Rev.  1  :  16.  No  man  hath  seen,  nor 
can  see  God  ;  and  any  visible  mani- 
festation of  Himself,  as  in  the^glory 
of  the  bush,  he  was  afraid  to  gaze 
upon,  now  that  he  heard  the  voice, 
and  knew  the  fact  of  the  Divine 
Presence. 

7.  I  have  surely  seen.  Heb., 
Seeing  1  have  seen.  I  have  closely, 
carefully  noticed  and  watched.  God 
assures  Moses  that  He  has  all  along 
attentively  considered  the  case  of 
His  people,  and  has  heard  their  cry 
under  the  oppressive  task-masters  ; 
and  the  proof  of  this  is,  for  1  know 
their  sorrows,  as  having  taken  ex- 
act account  of  them. 

8.  And  this  is  given'as  a  reason 
for  the  Divine  interposition.  The 
case  was  known  to  call  for  such. 
God  has  a  plan  of  salvation  which 
includes  deliverance  from  bondage 
and  introduction  to  the  better  land, 
and  comprehends  all  the  interven- 
ing particulars.  The  Land  of  Prom- 
ise is  described  as  superior  to  Go- 
shen— a  good  land  and  a  large — of 
large  extent  as  compared  with  Go- 
shen—-flowing-  with  milk  and  honey 
— abounding  in  pasturage  for  milk 
and    in    flowers  for    honey.     The 


phrase  is  a  proverbial  one  for  lux- 
uriant fertility  and  richness  of  pro- 
duce, while  these  were  articles 
yielded  in  large  abundance  by  the 
land  of  Canaan,  ch.  13  :  5  ;  16  :  14. 
Deut.  8  ;  7-9.  Isa.  7  :  15,  22.  John 
the  Baptist  fed  on  wild  honey.  I 
have  seen,  at  Heliopolis,  the  great 
obelisk,  covered,  towards  the  sun, 
with  the  honey  of  the  bees,  and  it  is 
common  to  see  this  wild  honey  on 
rocks  and  trees.  ^[  Unto  the  place 
of,  etc.  Six  tribes  inhabiting  the 
land,  would  give  some  idea  of  its 
breadth.  See  Gen.  10  :  15-18  ;  15  : 
18,  20.  There  were  in  Abraham's 
time,  ten  tribes  inhabiting  the  land. 
The  Canaanites  sometimes  include 
the  whole — though  only  five  were 
descended  from  Canaan.  These 
names  are  in  the  singular — the  Ca~ 
naanite,  etc. 

9,  10.  God  here  repeats  the  fact 
which  impelled  Him  to  this  move- 
ment of  deliverance,  and  states  the 
plan  for  sending  Moses  to  Pharaoh, 
and  the  object  in  view. 

§  7.  Moses'  Objections  and  God's 
Answer.    Ch.  Ill:  11-22. 

11.  Moses  demurs  at  this  Divine 
commission,  though    he   had  been 


CHAPTER  III. 


45 


11  And  Moses  said  unto  God,  Who  am  I,  m  that  I  should 
go  unto  Pharaoh,  and  that  I  should  bring  forth  the  children  of 
Israel,  out  of  Egypt  ? 

12  And  he  said,  Certainly  I  will  be  with  n  thee;  and  this 
shall  be  a  token  unto  thee,  that  I  have  sent  thee  :  When  thou 
hast  brought  forth  the  people  out  of  Egypt,  ye  shall  serve  God 
upon  this  mountain. 

13  And  Moses  said  unto  God,  Behold,  when  I  come  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  shall  say  unto  them,  The  God  of  your 
fathers  hath  sent  me  unto  you ;  and  they  shall  say  to  me,  What 
is  his  name  ?  what  shall  I  say  unto  them  ? 


m  Je.  1: 


n  Ge.  31:  3;  Jos.  1;  5;  Ro. 


31. 


so  ready  to  go  at  his  own  impulse. 
He  was  awed  by  the  Divine  Majesty, 
and  could  see  no  reason  why  he 
should  be  chosen  by  God  for  such  a 
work.  This  may  have  been  in  part 
owing  to  his  humble  condition  as  a 
shepherd  in  Midian.  But  wben  one 
sees  God,  he  shrinks  at  a  sense  of 
his  own  insignificance.  Who  am  If 
This  was  most  natural,  considering 
that  he  knew  the  haughtiness  and 
power  of  Pharaoh,  and  besides  he 
knew  of  his  having  been  sought  for 
his  life  by  the  monarch  for  having 
interfered  on  his  brethren's  behalf, 
and  of  his  having  been  rejected  by 
his  own  people,  at  his  first  attempt. 
Going  to  Pharaoh  and  bringing 
forth  the  people  of  Israel  frorn  his 
power,  would,  of  course,  seem  to 
him  a  thing  impossible.  But  this 
was  from  the  human  side,  and  from 
his  own  point  of  view.  They  who 
are  best  fitted  for  God's  work,  com- 
monly have  the  humblest  estimate 
of  themselves  and  their  fitness. 

12.  Another  aspect  is  put  upon 
the  commission  by  this  pledge  of 
the  Divine  Presence  to  accompany 
him.  The  same  Apostle  who  said 
he  was  not  able  to  think  anything 
as  of  himself,  said,  also,  "  I  can  do 
all  things  through  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  me,"  (Phil.  4 :  13). 
God  with  us  is  our  surest  warrant 
for  all  undertakings,  and  our  purest 
comfort  in  all  affliction.  God  was 
ready  also  to  furnish  to  the  timid 
man  a  token—  for  his  most   ample 


and  positive  assurance  in  the  event 
itself — the  promised  result  of  his 
mission — that  after  he  had  achieved 
the  deliverance — ye  (the  Israel) 
shall  serve  God  upon  this  mountain. 
For  the  present,  he  had  the  miracu- 
lous token  in  the  burning  bush — 
and  for  the  future,  he  should  be 
sustained  and  strengthened  by  the 
fulfilled  prophecy  now  uttered.  So 
that  both  by  prodigy  and  by  proph- 
ecy God's  hand  should  be  made 
known.  So  surely  as  God  appeared 
to  him  at  Horeb  so  surely  should 
Israel  serve  Him  there,  on  their  way 
from  Egypt  to  Canaan.  (See  ch.  24.) 
They  entered  into  covenant  with 
God  there,  and  gave  proof  of  their 
obedience,  ch.  36  :  1-7,  Numb.  7. 

13.  Moses  begins  to  contemplate 
the  work  so  far  as  to  anticipate  the 
practical  difficulties.  They  would 
probably  ask  him  for  the  name  of 
Him  who  sent  him.  By  this  he 
means,  that  they  would  ask,  not  for 
His  common  title,  but  for  His  plan 
of  manifestation,  or  the  mode  of 
His  action  or  dispensation  towards 
them.  A  name  is  that  whereby 
one  makes  himself  known — and 
here  the  question  likely  to  be  asked 
is — How  will  God  display  Himself 
or  make  Himself  known?  What 
does  He  propose  to  do  ? 

14,  15.  I  AM  that  lam— Heb.— 
I  will  be  what  I  will  be.  Sept. — I  am 
He  who  is — or  the  Existing  One- 
Essential  Being  not  only,  but  with 
reference  to  further  revelation,  the 


46 


EXODUS. 


14  And  God  said  unto  Moses,  I  AM  THAT  I  AM  ;  °  and  he 
said,  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  AM  hath 
sent  me  unto  you. 

15  And  God  said,  moreover,  unto  Moses,  Thns  shalt  thou 
say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  The  Lord  God  of  your  fathers, 
the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob, 
hath  sent  me  unto  you  ;  this  is  my  name  for  ever,  and  this  is 
my  memorial  p  unto  all  generations. 

16  Go,  and  gather  the  elders  of  Israel  together,  and  say  un- 
to them,  the  Lord  God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham, 
of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  appeared  unto  me,  saying,  I  have  surely 
visited  <i  you,  and  seen  that  which  is  done  to  you  in  Egypt. 

17  And  I  have  said,  I  will  bring  r  you  up  out  of  the  afflic- 
tion of  Egypt  unto  the  land  of  the  Canaanites,  and  the  Hit- 
tites,  and  the  Amorites,  and  the  Perizzites  and  the  Hivites,  and 
the  Jebusites,  unto  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey: 

18  And  they  shall  hearken  to  thy  voice  ;  and  thou  shalt 
come,  thou  and  the  elders  of  Israel,  unto  the  king  of  Egypt  ; 
and  ye  shall  say  unto  him,  the  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews  hath  8 
met  with  us  ;  and  now  let  us  go,  we  beseech  thee,  three  days' 
journey  into  the  wilderness,  that  we  may  sacrifice  to  the  Lord 
our  God. 

och.  6:  3;  Jno.  8:  58;  He/ 13:  8.  p  Ps.  102:  12;  135:  13;  Ho.  12:  5.  q  Ge.  50:24: 
Lu.  1  :  68.    r  Ge.  15:  13-20;  46:  4.     s  Nu.  23:  3,  etc. 


Supreme  Being  as  about  to  display 
Himself  in  Redemption — So  that 
Eloliim  and  Jehovah  are  combined, 
as  in  Gen.  2.  The  Lord  God,  who 
in  Gen.  2,  moved  to  Redemption, 
here  moves  in  another  grand  stage 
of  the  Redeeming  work  as  a  Cove- 
nant God.  In  the  Apocalypse  it  is 
"  I  am  He  which  is,  and  was,  and  is 
to  come — the  Almighty  (Rev.  1  :  8). 
And  on  the  veil  which  overhung 
the  Temple  of  the  Egyptian  Sais 
was  written  "  I  am  that  which  has 
been,  and  which  is,  and  which  is  to 
be,  and  my  veil  no  mortal  hath  yet 
drawn  aside."  It  was  not  merely 
God's  self-existence  which  was  ex- 
pressed in  the  wonderful  name,  but 
His  Redeeming  Providence  and 
Grace  also.  So  it  is  further  expand- 
ed— This  (is)  my  name  forever,  and 
this  (is)  my  memorial  unto  all  gene- 
rations— the  principle  and  style  of 
His  further  manifestation  as  to  be 


recognized  among  men.  (Ps.  185.)  I 
will  make  myself  known  in  this 
capacity  of  a  covenant  God  and  Re- 
deemer to  all  future  generations  of 
His  people.  Literally  it  reads — 
"  Jehovah,  God  of  your  fathers, 
God  of  Abraham,  God  of  Isaac  and 
God  of  Jacob." 

16,  18.  Moses  is  now  directed  to 
the  first  step  to  be  taken.  He  was 
to  go  and  assemble  the  Elders — So  in 
Joel,  2  :  16.  They  were  the  heads 
of  the  people,  and  the  office  has 
been  preserved  in  the  synagogue, 
and  handed  down  as  the  only  per- 
manent office  in  the  Church,  (Gen. 
50:  7.)  The  Lord  God — Jehovah 
God — the  two  names  comprising 
the  whole  idea  of  a  Supreme  Cove- 
nant God.  Moses  is  to  assure  the 
people  of  all  that  had  been  assured 
to  him.  He  is  warranted  that  they 
shall  hearken  to  him,  and  not  reject 
him,  as  at  first.     Accompanied   by 


CHAPTER  III. 


47 


19  And  I  am  sure  that  the  king  of  Egypt  will  not  let  yout 
go,  no,  not  by  a  mighty  hand. 

20  And  I  will  stretch  out  my  hand,  and  smite  Egypt  with 
all  my  wonders,u  which  I  will  do  in  the  midst  thereof  ;  and  after 
that  he  will  v  let  you  go. 

21  And  I  will  give  this  people  w  favor  in  the  sight  of  the 
Egyptians ;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that,  when  ye  go,  ye 
shall  not  go  empty  ; 

22  But  every  woman  shall  borrow  x  of  her  neighbor,  and  of 
her  that  sojourneth  in  her  house,  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of 
gold,  and  raiment ;  and  ye  shall  put  them  upon  your  sons,  and 
upon  your  daughters  ;  and  ye  shall  y  spoil  the  Egyptians. 


tch.  5:  2.    u  ch.  7:  3;  11:  9;  De.  6: 
r  ch.  12:  31.    w  ch.  11:  3.    x  ch.  12:  3 


22;  Ne.  9:  10;  Ps.  105:  27;  Je.  32  20;  Ac.  7: 
i.    y  Job  27:  17:  Pr.  13:  22;  Is.  33:  1. 


these  Elders  as  the  official  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people — and  not 
alone  as  he  had  feared — they  should 
present  the  case  to  Pharaoh.  The 
Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews — So  God 
already  encourages  the  people  by  a 
title  that  insures  His  covenant  rela- 
tion and  protection.  They  were  to 
assure  the  monarch  of  the  Personal 
Existence  of  their  God,  by  mention- 
ing His  meeting  with  them,  as  had 
been  seen  by  Moses.  Let  us  go — 
This  request  is  not  at  first  for  manu- 
mission, which  the  monarch  had 
been  so  guarding  against,  but  it  was 
a  religious  request  for  leave  of  a 
three  days'  journey  to  sacrifice  to 
their  God.  It  was  no  pretence  (ch. 
8  :  27).  It  was  reasonable,  moder- 
ate, fair,  that  he  might  have  no 
good  ground  for  refusing.  God  will 
have  it  appear  how  utterly  unyield- 
ing and  oppressive  Pharaoh  is. 
What  God  purposes  in  the  future 
has  nothing  to  do  with  Pharaoh's 
action,  for  He  does  not  disclose  His 
plans.  God's  eternal  purposes  are 
hidden  from  us  and  therefore  they 
cannot  be  pleaded  in  extenuation 
of  our  sin.  It  will  be  seen  that 
Pharaoh  is  free  in  his  action,  while 
God  accomplishes  His  own  eternal 
purposes  of  Redemption  in  perfect 
consistency  with  the  freedom  of  the 
creature.  Besides,  it  is  only  the 
immediate  duty  that  is  provided 
for,  and  the  sequel  shall  be  met  in 


its  time.  The  three  days'  journey 
would  carry  them  quite  outside  of 
Egypt.  And  as  their  sacrifice  would 
be  of  animals  held  sacred  among 
the  Egyptians,  it  would  be  proper 
to  get  out  of  the  land  for  the  pur- 
pose. God  will  have  us  attend  to 
present  duty  and  leave  the  sequel 
to  come  upon  us  in  its  own  time. 

19.  God  at  the  same  time  knows 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  is 
sure  of  the  result.  But  this  does 
not  at  all  affect  Pharaoh's  responsi- 
bility. Pharaoh  shall  be  dealt  with 
so  as  to  have  his  own  free  choice  ; 
and  so  as  to  show  his  wickedness 
and  to  open  the  way  for  God's  gra- 
cious interposition. 

20.  God  now  reveals  to  Moses, 
for  his  encouragement,  the  outline 
of  His  plan  for  deliverance,  and  the 
effect  upon  Pharaoh.  ^  Not  by — 
Not  even  by  means  of  a  strong  hand. 
All  the  mighty  works  of  God  would 
not  induce  him.  He  would  resist  to 
the  end,  and  thus  his  destruction 
would  be  the  fruit  of  his  obduracy. 
The  ultimate  release  would  be 
against  his  will — by  severe  compul- 
sion and  perdition.  See  ch.  10  :  27. 
See  also  ch.  12  :  31  and  14  :  5,  etc., 
or  the  other  rendering  of  some, 
"  But  by  a  mighty  hand"  is  sustain- 
ed by  the  reading  ch.  6  :  1.  And 
after  these  things  (the  miracles)  he 
will  let  you  go. 

21-22.  Favor  from  the  Egyptians 


48 


EXODUS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AND  Moses  answered  and  said,  but,  behold,  they  will   not 
believe  me,  nor  hearken  unto  my  voice  :  for  they  will  say, 
The  Lord  hath  not  appeared  unto  thee. 

2  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  What  is  that  in  thine  hand  ? 
And  he  said,  A  rod. 


is  also  promised  to  them  for  their 
departure,  securing  a  supply  of  trea- 
sure for  the  journey.  Shall  borrow. 
The  word  means,  shall  ask,  or  claim 
as  a  right — shall  demand.  It  was 
their  right.  Some  think  it  means 
shall  ask  as  a  favor  and  it  should  he 
granted  as  such.  This  was  in  ful- 
filment of  the  promise  (Gen.  15  :  14) 
that  they  should  come  out  with  great 
suhstance.  The  Egyptian  people 
should  be  well  disposed  towards 
their  Hebrew  neighbors,  and  would 
grant  their  request  or  demand  of 
jewels  and  raiment.  This  might  be 
from  neighborly  feeling,  or  from 
joy  at  their  departure  on  account  of 
fear  of  God's  tokens.  "  Egypt  was 
glad  when  they  departed — for  the 
fear  of  them  fell  upon  them,"  (Ps. 
105:38.)  So  the  Israelites  are  di- 
rected to  ask,  ch.  11  :  2,  3.  So  ch. 
12  :  35,  36  it  was  done.  Asking  of 
her  that  sojourneth  in  her  house 
would  imply  that  they  lived  with 
the  Egyptians  in  some  cases  (see 
ch.  11  :  2)  as  servants  or  otherwise. 
The  jewels  and  clothes  they  should 
put  upon  their  sons  and  daughters 
— and  so  they  should  spoil  the 
Egyptians  (Egypt).  Objectors  have 
made  this  to  be  a  borroicing  and 
stealing  of  treasure  ;  but  the  whole 
connection  here  shows  that  the 
sense  in  which  it  must  have  been 
understood  was  that  of  asking  and 
of  receiving,  whether  as  a  mere  fa- 
vor or  as  a  right  also,  an  amount 
which  would  be  a  serious  draught 
upon  the  Egyptians,  and  which  yet 
would  be  conceded  ;  for  it  was  to 
come  from  the  favor  which  God 
would  give  them  in  the  sight  of  the 
Egyptians.  The  term  torborrowing 
in  the  Hebrew,  is  quite  different 
from  this. 


CHAP.  IV. 

§  8.  Moses'  Doubts  Removed, 
Further  Objection  met  by 
a  Sign.    Ch.  IV  :  1-9. 

1.  Moses  now  foresees  the  diffi- 
culty which  he  must  meet  from  the 
unbelief  of  the  people  in  his  Divine 
commission.  Pharaoh's  refusal  had 
already  been  provided  for  in  the 
plan  of  God,  (ch.  3  :  19-22),  yet,  he 
needs  further  confirmation  of  his 
own  faith  on  the  spot,  and  further 
provision  for  his  probable  repulse 
by  his  own  people  (v.  5).  God  fur- 
nishes to  him  the  most  satisfactory 
signs,  and  his  difficulties  are  thus 
effectually  removed.  But,  behold. 
The  Gr. ,  has — If.  Moses  may, 
however,  well  be  certain  of  his  ill- 
success,  considering  his  recent  ex- 
perience with  his  brethren.  The 
last  instance  of  the  Divine  appearing 
to  Israel  was  Gen.  46  :  2.  And  be- 
sides Moses  had  now  been  an  exile 
in  Midian  forty  years,  and  would  be 
a  stranger  to  most  of  his  people. 

2.  Moses'  rod  was  the  shepherd's 
staff.  Upon  being  thrown  down, 
it  is  turned  into  a  serpent,  and  on 
being  taken  up  again  it  becomes  a 
rod,  as  at  first.  This  miracle  is  sug- 
gestive and  full  of  meaning  as  to 
the  matter  in  hand.  The  throwing 
down  of  his  shepherd  office  was 
repugnant  to  him  and  would  involve 
him  in  difficulties  from  which  he 
would  desire  to  escape,  — difficulties 
especially  in  connection  with  Egypt's 
wicked,  Satanic  power.  But  God 
would  enable  him  to  seize  this  fear- 
ful thing  and  it  should  turn  to  be  in 
his  hands  the  rod  of  power  where- 
by he  should  smite  the  Egyptians. 
For  the  serpent  was  the  symbol  of 


CHAPTER  IV. 


49 


3  And  he  said,  Cast  it  on  the  ground.  And  he  cast  it  on 
the  ground,  and  it  became  a  serpent ;  and  Moses  fled  from  be- 
fore it. 

4  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Put  forth  thine  hand,  and 
take  it  by  the  tail.  And  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  caught  it, 
and  it  became  a  rod  in  his  hand : 

5  That  they  may  a  believe  that  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers, 
the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob, 
hath  appeared  unto  thee. 

6  And  the  Lord  said  furthermore  unto  him,  Put  now  thine 
hand  into  thy  bosom.  And  he  put  his  hand  into  his  bosom  ; 
and  when  he  took  it  out,  behold,  his  hand  teas  leprous  b  as  snow. 

7  And  he  said,  Put  thine  hand  into  thy  bosom  again.  And 
he  put  his  hand  into  his  bosom  again, and  plucked  it  out  of  his 
bosom  ;  and,  behold,  it  was  c  turned  again  as    his  other  flesh. 

8  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  they  will  not  believe  thee, 
neither  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  first  sign,  that  they  will  be- 
lieve the  voice  of  the  latter  sign. 


ach.19:  9.        b  Nu.  12:  10:2  Ki.  5:  27.        c  Matt. 


royal  power.  The  Pharaohs  wore 
this  on  their  diadem,  as  the  sign 
also  of  Divine  authority — and  the 
coiled  serpent  forming  a  circle  was 
the  token  of  eternity.  This  change 
of  the  rod  to  a  serpent  was  to  him  a 
pledge  of  victory  over  the  Kings 
and  gods  of  Egypt.  This  miracle 
was  given  to  him  for  his  own  assur- 
ance, and  also  to  be  performed  be- 
fore the  people,  that  they  may  believe 
in  his  Divine  commission  (ch.  7  : 
10).  The  working  of  a  miracle  was 
understood  and  accepted  among  the 
Israelites  as  a  criterion  of  a  Divine 
call  and  authority,  (John  3  :  2,  3.)  A 
miracle  was  a  sign  of  the  Divine 
presence.  "  The  shepherd's  rod  was 
the  symbol,  of  his  simplicity,  of  his 
exile,  of  his  lowliness." — Stanley. 

6.  A  second  sign  is  given  to  Mo- 
ses to  add  to  the  attestation  of  the 
first.  It  was  also  full  of  signifi- 
cance. The  hand  of  Moses  was  the 
symbol  of  action.  As  his  efficiency 
and  power  in  Egypt  had  become 
blighted  by  his  exile,  as  by  leprosy, 
yet  it  should  become  perfectly  re- 
stored again.  What  seemed  to  him 
at  first  to  be  utterly  disabled,  as  if 
smitten  with  "leprosy,  should,  at  the 


Divine  bidding,  become  a  restored 
hand  of  power.  And  further,  the 
people  should  see  by  this  sign,  that 
as  God  could  make  Moses'  office 
what  He  pleased,  so  He  could  make 
Moses'  hand  what  He  chose,  and 
purge  it  of  all  defilement  and  dis- 
ability. And  so  He  could  make 
Pharaoh  leprous  and  Moses  whole. 
And  He  could  make  Israel  free  from 
defilement  and  exile  by  the  cleansed 
hand  of  Moses.  The  first  sign  had 
reference  to  Moses'  call — the  second 
to  his  power  in  executing  the  call. 
If  they  icill  not  hearken,  etc.  If  they 
will  not  accredit  Moses'  office,  they 
will  be  forced  to  believe  his  work. 
The  sign  has  a  voice — and  speaks, 
as  a  witness  of  God's  presence  and 
power,  (Ps.  105:  27,  John  3:  3.) 
^f  Leprous  as  snaw.  White  from 
the  color  of  the  parts  affected,  in  the 
most  malignant  leprosy.  I  have 
seen  lepers  in  Palestine,  with  white, 
scabby  blotches  on  the  face  and 
wrists. 

9.  Further  provision  is  now 
made  for  the  persistent  unbelief  of 
the  people,  if  necessary.  It  has  a 
most  significant  reference  to  the 
consequences    of    rejecting     God's 


50 


EXODUS. 


9  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  they  will  not  believe  also 
these  two  signs,  neither  hearken  unto  thy  voice,  that  thou  slialt 
take  of  the  water  of  the  river,  and  pour  it  upon  the  dry  land: 
and  the  water,  which  thou  takest  out  of  the  river  shall  become 
d  blood  upon  the  dry  land. 

10  And  Moses  said  unto  the  Loud,  O  my  Lord,  I  am  not 
eloquent,  neither  heretofore,  nor  since  thou  hast  spoken  unto 
thy  servant  :  but  I  am  slow  of  speech,  and  of  a  slow  tongue. 

11  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Who  hath  made  man's 
mouth  ?e  or  who  maketh  the  dumb,  or  deaf,  or  the  seeing,  or 
the  blind  ?  have  not  I  the  Lord  ? 


d  cb.  7 : 


e  Ps.  94:  9;  Je.  1:  6,! 


messenger.  The  water  of  the  sacred 
river,  the  Nile,  which  was  every- 
thing to  the  Egyptians,  was  by  the 
hand  of  Moses  to  become  blood. 
One  of  the  plagues  with  which  God 
afterward  smote  Egypt,  was  to  be 
enacted  in  miniature  before  the  Is- 
raelites to  fortify  his  faith  and  cour- 
age, and  to  satisfy  their  doubting 
minds.  It  is  an  intimation  to  him 
of  the  Divine  power  with  which  he 
should  be  armed.  The  miracle 
wrought  before  the  Egyptians  (ch. 
7 :  20,)  was  on  a  larger  scale,  and 
not  by  handful,  but  in  mass.  The 
water  on  which  they  relied  for 
drink,  and  for  watering  the  soil 
(having  no  rain)  was  thus,  in  the 
power  of  Moses  to  turn  it  into  a 
stream  of  blood.  Moses  was  the 
first  God-sent  Prophet,  and  the  first 
miracle-worker,  and  so  he  was  a 
type  of  the  Apostle  and  High  Priest 
of  our  Profession  Jesus  Christ.  (Heb. 
3:  1.) 

Lessons — (1)  God  can  clearly 
signify  to  His  servants  His  will  and 
His  warrant.  (2)  God  uses  His  ab- 
solute control  of  nature  to  serve  His 
purposes  of  grace.  (3)  The  super- 
natural act  is  natural  to  the  Super- 
natural Being,  who  is  God  over  all. 
(4)  God  suits  His  miracles  to  the 
occasion  so  as  to  make  the  truth 
most  clear. 

§  0.  Moses'  Further  Objection 
and  God's  Answer.  Ch.  IV : 
10-31. 


10.  Moses  finds  yet  another  diffi- 
culty in  the  way  of  his  success.  He 
says,  I  am  not  eloquent — Heb. — a 
man  of  words — of  fluent  speech — 
(Gr. — not  sufficient — fit) — even  from 
yesterday  and  from  the  third  day 
(or,  the  day  before  yesterday),  that 
is,  from  the  very  first — (Gen.  31  : 
2.) — and  even  from  the  time  of  thy 
speaking  to  thy  servant.  "  I  do  not 
possess  the  gift  of  speech,  either  by 
nature,  or  since  thou  hast  addressed 
me."  He  could  not  summon  courage 
to  plead  his  cause  before  Pharaoh, 
but  felt  his  incompetency  as  to  free- 
dom and  facility  of  speech,  and 
strength  of  argument.  He  had 
failed  even  before  his  oppressed 
countrymen,  to  impress  them  with 
his  claim  to  their  confidence.  I  am 
heavy  of  month  and  heavy  of  tongue. 
There  may  be  a  reference  to  his  de- 
ficiency in  the  Egyptian  tongue 
after  his  absence  of  forty  years. 

11.  Who  hath  made — Heb.  Who 
hath  put  the  mouth  to  man.  God 
here  reminds  Moses  of  His  preroga- 
tive, who  created  all  man's  organs 
and  powers.  All  the  needed  gifts 
are  at  the  Divine  command,  and  will 
be  supplied  as  they  are  needed.  He 
can  make  the  speech  and  the  senses 
or  can  take  them  away. 

12.  He  is  now  bidden  to  go  for- 
ward, with  the  assurance  /  will  be 
with  thy  mouth.  While  he  shall 
speak,  God  will  aid  his  natural 
powers  to  the  full  extent  of  the 
necessity.      God    is    said    to    have 


CHAPTER  IV. 


51 


12  Now  therefore  go,  and  I  will  be  with  thy  mouth,  and 
teach  thee  what f  thou  shalt  say. 

13  And  he  said,  O  my  Lord,  send,  I  pray  thee,  by  the  hand 
of  him  whom  thou  wilt  send. 

14  And  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Moses; 
and  he  said,  Is  not  Aaron  the  Levite  thy  brother  ?  I  know  that 
he  can  speak  well.  And  also,  behold,  he  cometh  forth  to  meet 
thee ;  and  when  he  seeth  thee,  s  he  will  be  glad  in  his  heart. 

15  And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  him,  and  put  words  h  in  his 
mouth :  and  I  will  be  with  thy  mouth,  and  with  his  mouth,  and 
will  teach  you  what  ye  shall  do. 

16  And  he  shall  be  thy  spokesman  unto  the  people  :  and 
he  shall  be,  even  he  shall  be  to  thee  instead  of  a  mouth,  and 
thou  shalt  be  to  him  instead l  of  God. 

17  And  thou  shalt  take  this  rod  k  in  thine  hand,  wherewith 
thou  shalt  do  signs. 


f  Is.  50  :  4;  Matt.  10 :  19.     g  Ver.  27.     h  Xu.  22  :  S 
16;  Je.  1 :  9;  Lu.  21 :  15.    i  ch.7 :  1;  18 :  19.    k  Ver.  2. 


:  5,  etc.;  De.  18:  18;  Is.  51 


spoken  by  the  mouth,  of  David,  etc. 
This  is  the  doctrine  of  inspiration 
that  the  Scripture  is  the  word  of 
God  in  the  very  words  of  men. 
God  would  teach  him  what  to  say. 
— So  also  the  apostles. 

1 3.  Send,  I -pray  thee,  by  the  hand 
thou  wilt  send.  That  is,  send  by 
whomsoever  thou  wilt,  meaning 
that  he  had  rather  any  other  should 
be  sent  than  he,  and  that  if  he  must 
go,  he  would,  yet  reluctantly,  and 
by  constraint. — Do  as  you  please. 

14-17.  No  wonder  that  the  anger 
of  Jehovah  was  kindled  against  Mo- 
ses, when  the  man  demurs  so,  and 
objects  to  the  last.  Yet  God  had 
been  most  patient  and  forbearing 
towards  him.  It  is  only  a  misnamed 
humility  that  declines  to  accept 
God's  provisions  and  promises,  un- 
der any  deep  sense  of  our  deficiency 
and  ill-desert.  Moses'  objections 
however,  were  not  in  any  spirit  of 
opposition  toward  God,  but  only  of 
shrinking  and  of  self-distrust.  Ac- 
cordingly God  provides  even  for 
this  last  difficulty  by  appointing 
his  brother  Aaron  as  his  colleague. 
(Heb.)  Is  not  Aaron  thy  brother,  the 
Levite.  Delitzsch  thinks  there  is 
no  reference  here  to  the  future  call- 


ing of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and  that 
it  is  intended,  by  these  terms,  merely 
to  designate  Aaron  more  fully.  He 
is  of  the  same  tribe  with  Moses  and 
therefore  most  fit  to  be  his  associate. 
Aaron  is  coming  forth  already  will- 
ingly to  the  work,  and  will  be  glad 
to  see  thee,  instead  of  shrinking,  as 
you  have  done.  Although  the  el- 
der brother  he  will  gladly  act  under 
Moses.  In  v.  27  God  gives  him  the 
direction  as  to  the  route.  Moses 
was  to  dictate,  and  Aaron  was  to 
speak.  And  God  was  to  guide  and 
guard  the  lips  of  both  of  them. 
Aaron  was  to  be  the  spokesman  of 
Moses  unto  the  people,  to  serve  in- 
stead of  a  mouth  to  Moses,  and  Mo- 
ses was  to  be  to  him  instead  of  God. 
"  Aaron  would  stand  to  Moses  in  the 
same  relation  as  a  prophet  to  God." 
"  What  God  is  to  Moses,  that  Moses 
is  to  Aaron  in  regard  to  the  matter 
and  authority  of  his  message  (ch. 
7 :  1).  This  rod  in  thine  hand.  The 
rod  and  the  hand  had  both  been  mi- 
raculously wrought  upon,  and  now 
Moses  could  understand  the  mean- 
ing— wherewith  thou  shalt  do  signs. 

18.  Moses  went  and  returned — 
from  the  burning  bush  of  Horeb,  to 
Jethro.     (See  ch.  3  :1.)    Moses   now 


EXODUS. 


IS  And  Moses  went,  find  returned  to  Jethro  his  father-in- 
law,  and  said  unto  him,  Let  me  go,  I  pray  thee,  and  return  un- 
to my  brethren  which  are  in  Egypt :  and  see  whether  they  be 
yet  alive.     And  Jethro  said  to  Moses,  Go  in  peace. 

19  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses  in  Midian,  Go,  return  in- 
to Egypt,  for  all  the  men  i  are  dead,  which  sought  thy  life. 

20  And  Moses  took  his  wife  and  his  sons,  and  set  them  up- 
on an  ass,  and  he  returned  to  the  land  of  Egypt  :  and  Moses 
took  the  rod  m  of  God  in  his  hand. 

21  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  When  thou  goest  to  re- 
turn iuto  Egypt,  see  that  thou  do  all  those  n  wonders  before  Pha- 
raoh, which  I  have  put  in  thine  hand  :  but  I  will  harden  °  his 
heart,  that,  he  shall  not  let  the  people  go. 

1  ch.  2 :  15, 23;  Matt.  2 :  20.      m.  ch.  17 :  9;  Nu.  20  :  8-9.      n  ch.  3 :  20.     o  ch.  7 :  3,  etc  : 
De.  2:  30;  Jos.  11:  20;  Is.  6:  10;  63:  17;  Jno.  12:  40;  Ro.  9:  18;  2Th.  2:  10-12. 


finds  all  his  obj  ections  met,  and  he 
takes  preparative  steps  at  once  for 
entering  upon  the  work.  As  in 
duty  bound  so  he'  asks  leave  of  his 
father-in-law,  in  whose  service  he 
was  employed.  He  states  to  him, 
only  in  most  general  terms,  the  ob- 
ject of  his  mission — to  see  whether 
they  be  alive — and  to  look  after  their 
interests  under  their  crushing  bond- 
age, if,  indeed,  it  has  not  crushed 
them  utterly.  Jethro,  understand- 
ing the  earnestness  of  Moses'  re- 
quest, consents.  (Heb.)  Go  in  [for] 
peace.  Moses  makes  no  unfair  con- 
cealment. 

19,  20.  The  Greek  here  inserts  a 
passage — "  And  after  those  many 
days  the  King  of  Egypt  died," — 
which  is  not  found  in  the  Hebrew, 
but  is  added  by  the  LXX  to  accom- 
modate the  next  sentence.  While 
he  was  in  Midian,  God  directs  him 
to  set  out  for  Egypt  now  that  the 
hostile  Pharaoh  and  others  who  had 
sought  his  life  were  dead.  This  is 
after  he  had  obtained  Jethro's  con- 
sent, and  was  in  waiting  perhaps 
for  such  Divine  direction  as  to  the 
fitting  time  for  his  departure. 

20.  He  now  sets  out  upon  his 
journey.  His  wife  and  his  two  sons 
(ch.  18 :  4  tells  us  of  the  second) 
are  set  upon  an  ass.  I  have  seen 
children  swung  in  a  pair  of  baskets 
on  an  ass,  and  the  parents  walking 


alongside,  or  one  or  the  other  riding 
by  turns.  This  is  common  in  the 
pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem.  Moses 
goes  in  the  faith  of  all  that  he  was 
to  accomplish  under  God— taking 
the  rod  of  God  in  his  hand — the  rod 
which  was  transformed  by  God's 
power  so  as  to  be  the  symbol  of  His 
Omnipotence. 

21.  God  now  gives  to  Moses  a 
solemn  charge  to  do  all  the  mira- 
cles as  directed — Heb. — In  thy  going 
to  return  to  Egypt,  see  all  the  mira- 
cles (wonders)  which  I  have  put  (or- 
dered) by  thy  hand,  and  do  them  be- 
fore Pharaoh.  He  will  have  him 
use  all  the  Divinely  appointed 
means,  all  of  them  so  eminently 
calculated  to  impress  Pharaoh  and 
constrain  him  to  compliance.  But 
I  will  harden  his  heart  that  he  shall 
not  release  the  people.  The  word 
means,  to  make  strong,  firm,  obdu- 
rate— so  that  his  heart  will  not 
yield,  nor  relax  for  the  release  of 
Israel.  In  ch.  7 :  3,  it  is  another 
word  meaning  I  will  make  his  heart 
unfeeling.  And  in  ch.  10:  1,  it  is 
still  another  word,  I  have  made  his 
heart  heavy,  stupid,  insensible.  h\ 
these  different  forms  the  hardening 
of  Pharaoh's  heart  is  ascribed  to 
God,  ten  times  :— Ch.  9  :  12,  10  :  20, 
27,  11:  10,  14:  8,  14:  4,  17.  But 
just  as  many  times  it  is  said  that 
Pharaoh  hardened  his  own  heart,  or 


CHAPTER  IV. 


53 


22  And  thou  shalt  say  unto  Pharaoh,  Thus  saith  the  Loed, 
Israel  is  my  son,  p  even  my  first-born : 

23  And  I  say  unto  thee,  Let  my  son  go,  that  he  may  serve 
me  :  and  if  thou  refuse  to  let  him  go,  behold,  I  will  slay  <1  thy 
son,  even  thy  first-born. 

p  De.  14:  1;  Je.  31 :  9;  Ho.  11:  1;  Ko.  9:  4.        q  ch.  11  :  5;  12:  29. 


what  is  the  same,  that  it  became 
hard— ch.  7  :  13,  22,  8 :  15,  9  :  35,  ch. 

7  :  14  was  (became)  heavy,  ch.  9  :  7, 

8  :  11,  28,  9  :  34.  In  ch.  7  :  13,  the 
English  version  reads :  "  And  he 
hardened  the  heart  of  Pharaoh." 
But  it  should  read  the  same  as  in 
verse  22,  where  the  Hebrew  phrase 
is  exactly  the  same.  And  in  ch.  13  : 
15  expressly — for  Pharaoh  made  his 
heart  hard.  So  that  it  is  represented 
in  the  Scripture  as  quite  as  much  the 
work  of  Pharaoh  as  of  God.  In 
different  senses  it  may  be  under- 
stood to  be  the  work  of  one  or  the 
other — of  Pharaoh,  as  the  free  moral 
agent,  acting  from  motives  and 
without  any  sense  of  compulsion — 
or  of  God,  as  acting  in  and  by  Pha- 
raoh because  the  free  acts  of  men 
enter  into  His  plan,  and  His  decree 
secures  their  freedom,  while  it  or- 
dains the  means  along  with  the 
ends,  and  the  ends  in  connection 
with  the  means.  This  heart-har- 
dening was  neither  unknown  to  God 
from  the  beginning,  nor  indepen- 
dent of  God's  working  in  the  case, 
much  less  was  it  any  baffling  of 
God's  plan  ;  but  God's  plan  com- 
prehended it,  as  the  free  act  of  the 
man,  no  less  than  part  of  the  all  in 
all  of  God's  working — in  all,  through 
all,  and  above  all.  In  Josh.  11:  20, 
the  same  term  is  applied  to  other 
cases.  God  is  not  the  author  of  sin, 
but  God  works  in  a  world  of  sinners 
so  as  to  weave  every  thread  of  hu- 
man agency  into  the  wondrous  fab- 
ric of  His  designs  in  the  great 
scheme  of  Redemption.  It  is  re- 
markable here  that  not  only  after 
the  first  sign  wrought  before  Pha- 
raoh, ch.  7 :  13, 14,  but  after  the  first 
five  judicial  miracles  the  heart-har- 
dening is  ascribed  to  Pharaoh.     Af- 


ter each  of  these  miracles  it  is  re- 
corded that  his  heart  was  (or  became) 
hard,  or  stupid — unmoved  by  the 
Divine  wonders,  ch.  7  :  22,  8  :  8,  15, 
28,  9:  7.  It  is  not  till  after  the 
sixth  plague  that  it  is  said  that  Je- 
hovah made  the  heart  of  Pharaoh 
hard,  or  strong,  firm,  unyielding — 
ch.  9 :  12.  Then  at  the  seventh  it 
is  Pharaoh  made  his  heart  heavy, 
ch.  9  :  34,  35,  but  after  the  eighth 
and  ninth  his  continued  refusal, 
and  his  resolution  to  follow  the  Is- 
raelites and  bring  them  back,  are 
ascribed  to  Jehovah's  hardening  his 
heart — ch.  14  :  8,  comp.  vs.  4  and  17. 
The  Divine  dealing  affected  Pha- 
raoh in  this  way  and  so  resulted — 
and  may  be  looked  upon  as  working 
this  result.  The  Divine  hardening 
however  was  plainly  a  result  of  the 
human  self-hardening.  God  is  look- 
ed upon  as  giving  up  the  man  to 
the  hardening,  obdurating  influence 
of  this  Providential  dealing.  It  is 
only  as  a  necessity  of  the  Divine 
contact,  with  such  increasing  pride 
and  haughtiness  and  self-will,  that 
God  can  be  said  to  produce  the  har- 
dening— even  as  the  sun  hardens 
some  materials  while  he  melts  other 
substances — "  melts  the  wax  and 
dries  the  clay."  It  is  the  just  curse 
of  sin  and  its  necessary  working 
that  it  renders  the  heart  harder,  and 
this  is  by  a  Divine  law  in  which 
God  may  be  said  to  act.  And  Mo- 
ses is  here  informed  that  not  only 
could  not  Pharaoh  act  independent- 
ly of  Him,  but  that  even  his  very 
heart-hardening  should  come  with- 
in the  domain  of  the  Divine  action, 
and  therefore  was  most  fully  pro- 
vided for  in  His  plan  (See  Delitzsch). 
Moses  is  now  furnished  with  the 
ultimatum  which  he  was  to  lay  be- 


54 


EXODUS. 


24  And  it  came  to  pass,  by  the  way  in  the  inn,  that  the 
Lord  r  met  him,  and  sought  to  s  kill  him. 

25  Then  Zipporah  took  a  sharp  stone,  and  tcut  off  the  fore- 
skin of  her  son,  and  cast  it  at  his  feet,  and  said,  Surely  a  bloody 
husband  art  thou  to  me. 


r  Nu.  22 :  22.        s  Ge.  17 :  14.        t  Jos.  5 :  2, 


fore  Pharaoh,  in  all  his  hardness 
and  obstinate  refusal.  He  was  to 
declare  to  him  the  relation  in  which 
this  people  stood  to  God,  and  the 
Divine  demand  for  their  release, 
and  the  penalty  which  the  King 
should  incur  by  refusing  to  let  the 
people  go.  Israel  is  my  son.  The 
covenant  people  are  represented  in 
the  Old  Test,  as  the  son  and  servant, 
of  Jehovah.  And  the  Messiah  is 
also  thus  described.  It  is  the  com- 
plex Person,  of  which  Christ  is  the 
Head,  and  His  people  are  the  mem 
bers  So  that  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment the  return  of  the  Infant  Christ 
from  Egypt  is  referred  to  as  a  ful- 
filment of  this  typical  prophecy  in 
the  Exodus.  So  in  Hos.  11  :  1. 
"  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my 
Son."— Matt.  2 :  15.  "  Wherever 
Jehovah  is  called  the  Father,  Be- 
getter, or  Creator  of  Israel,  even  in 
Deut.  32  :  18,  Jer.  2  :  27,  Isa.  64  ;  8, 
Mai.  3  :  G  ;  2  :  10,  the  Fatherhood  of 
God  relates  to  the  election  of  Israel 
as  Jehovah's  people  of  possession." 
The  choosing  of  Israel  as  the  Son 
of  God  was  an  adoption  flowing 
from  the  free  grace  of  God,  which 
involved  the  loving,  fatherly  treat- 
ment of  the  Son,  and  demanded 
obedience,  reverence  and  confidence 
towards  the  Father. — Mai.  1 :  6. 
Paternal  discipline  (Kaidsta)  was  also 
involved  in  the  covenant  relation. 
Israel  was,  however,  not  only  Son, 
but  first-born  Son  of  Jehovah.  In 
this  title  the  calling  of  the  Gentile 
nations  is  implied.  Israel's  was  the 
first  place  among  the  nations,  by 
virtue  of  this  election.  So  Israel 
was  the  queen  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  King,  arrayed  in  gold  of  Ophir, 
but  accompanied  by  Kings'  daugh- 
ters as  her  honorable   women,  and 


typically  inferior  brides. — Ps.  45. 
So  Ps.  89  :  2G,  27.  This  demand  is 
now  to  be  made  upon  Pharaoh,  and 
the  penalty  of  refusal  is  plainly  to 
be  set  forth.  Release  my  son,  if 
not,  I  will  slay  thy  son,  even  thy  first- 
born. This  was  the  form  of  penalty 
which  would  most  vividly  remind 
Pharaoh  of  Israel's  relation  to  God. 
— Ch.  11  :  5  ;  12  :  29.  Some  think 
that  this  is  God's  language  to  Mo- 
ses, demanding  the  circumcision  of 
one  of  his  sons,  and  thus  connecting 
with  the  next  verse. 

24.  Moses  is  now  to  be  taught 
that  he  must  first  rule  well  his  own 
house,  and  obey  in  his  own  house 
the  Divine  ordinance,  before  he  can 
enforce  obedience  upon  others. 
Their  son,  perhaps  the  younger,  was 
uncircumcised.  It  was  by  some 
fault  of  the  parents,  and  probably 
of  the  wife,  who  here,  at  once,  per- 
forms the  ceremony.  By  the  way — 
on  the  route  to  Egypt — in  the  inn — 
or  caravanserai,  for  lodging  at  night, 
such  as  travellers  at  the  East  were 
accustomed  to — a  walled  enclosure 
for  protection  from  beasts.  Jehovah 
met  him,  literally — rushed  upon  him, 
in  a  hostile  attitude — to  attack  him 
— and  sought  to  kill  him.  This  was 
the  aspect  of  the  case.  Whether  it 
was  by  some  apparition  threatening 
death  with  drawn  sword,  as  in  the 
case  of  Balaam's  beast,  we  do  not 
know,  but  suppose  it  was  a  fearful 
manifestation,  as  with  a  sword,  or  a 
threatening  voice,  and  not  a  mere 
matter  of  sudden  disease.  He  was 
brought  to  see  how  dangerous  it 
must  ever  be  to  disobey  the  Divine 
command,  or  to  slight  God's  holy 
ordinances. 

25.  Then  Zipporah.   How  prompt- 
ly his  wife  Zipporah  understood  the 


CHAPTER  IV. 


55 


26  So  he  let  liira  go :  then  she  said,  A  bloody  husband  thou 
art,  because  of  the  circumcision. 

27  And  the  Lord  said  to  Aaron,  Go  into  the  wilderness  to 
meet  Moses.  And  he  went,  and  met  him  in  the  mountu  of 
God,  and  kissed  him. 


u  cb. 


controversy  which  God  had  with 
them  and  performed  the  sacred  rite, 
is  here  related.  Only,  by  hastening 
to  obey  can  we  avert  the  Divine 
displeasure.  And  they  who  go  in 
God's  name  to  preach  obedience 
ought  to  be,  themselves,  a  pattern 
of  it  to  others.  Some  think  that  it 
was  the  lad  whose  life  was  here 
threatened,  and  that  this  brought 
the  fond  mother  so  promptly  to 
obey.  As  they  had  two  sons,  the 
one  probably  the  older  had  already 
been  circumcised.  This  ordinance 
had  been  commanded  to  Abraham 
as  a  seal  of  the  Divine  Covenant  and 
the  neglect  of  it  was  punishable 
with  death. — Gen.  17 :  14.  A  stone. 
The  sharp  flint  was  sometimes  used 
as  a  knife,  in  the  absence  of  metal- 
lic ones,  some  suppose  as  being 
safer,  and  others  as  being  symboli- 
cal, but  probably  as  more  available. 
In  some  localities  the  flint  imple- 
ments preceded  the  metallic.  But 
see  Gen.  4 :  22.  As  Zipporah  was  a 
Midianitish  woman,  she  was  most 
probably  averse  to  this  bloody  and 
painful  duty.  She  said,  a  bridegroom 
of  blood  thou  art  to  me.  Moses,  as 
a  husband,  was  now  associated  in 
her  mind  with  blood,  as  the  blood 
was  the  price  of  his  life,  or  as  her 
marital  relation  with  a  Hebrew 
was  now  sealed  with  blood.  But 
others,  (as  Gesenius,)  understand 
this  to  be  said  of  the  lad,  and  sup- 
pose that  circumcision,  as  the  sign 
of  the  Divine  covenant,  is  compared 
with  marriage.  The  term  here  used 
for  bridegroom  is  used  of  circum- 
cision, as  having  some  affinity. 
Stanley  understands  it — "  A  bloody 
husband  thou  art  to  cause  the  de.ath 
of  my  son — fearing  that  her  child 
would    die    (as    smitten    of    God). 


Then  when  the  recovery  from  the 
illness  took  place  (whether  of  her 
son  or  her  husband)  she  exclaims 
again — "A  bloody  husband  still 
thou  art,  but  not  so  as  to  cause  the 
child's  death,  but  only  to  bring 
about  his  circumcision."  And  it  is 
more  natural  to  refer  it  to  Moses 
than  to  the  boy.  So  he  let  him  go. 
As  if  God  had  arrested  or  seized 
Moses,  and  now  lets  him  go,  be- 
cause the  required  duty  was  per- 
formed. Then  she  said — repeating 
the  significant  language — because 
of  the  circumcisions,  because  she 
had  been  thus  compelled  to  undergo 
this  painful  duty  of  circumcising 
the  lad,  casting  a  reproach  upon 
Moses,  as  having  been  the  occasion 
to  her  of  this  blood-shedding  of  her 
boy.  She  uses  the  plural  as  refer- 
ring to  circumcisions,  as  enjoined  in 
all  cases,  or  as  in  the  case  of  both 
her  sons.  This  was  probably  on 
the  first  night  of  their  journey,  as 
they  had  not  come  to  Horeb,  v.  27. 
And  as  the  child  was  now  unable  to 
travel,  the  mother  and  sons  were 
sent  back  to  Jethro's  house  from 
this  point.— Ch.  18  :  2. 

27.  Aaron  had  already  been  an- 
nounced to  Moses  as  setting  forth 
to  meet  him,  and  here  it  would  seem 
to  be  God's  direction  as  to  where 
Moses  should  be  met.  Go  into  the 
wilderness.  It  was  where  God  had 
appeared  to  Moses  in  the  bush — 
(ch.  8:1.)  Kissed  him.  This  was 
the  token  of  that  gladness  which 
had  been  predicted  of  him,  in  meet- 
ing Moses  (v.  14).  They  had  been 
now  forty  years  separated,  and  what 
wonder  that  both  should  be  glad. 
The  kiss  is  still  the  salutation  of 
Arab  friends  meeting  in  the  desert. 
Often  it  is  on  both  sides  of  the  face. 


EXODUS. 


28  And  Moses  told  Aaron  all  the  words  of  the  Lord  who 
had  sent  him,  and  all  the  signs  which  he  had  commanded  him. 

29  And  Moses  and  Aaron  went  and  gathered  together  all 
the  elders  of  the  children  of  Israel : 

30  And  Aaron  spakev  all  the  words  which  the  Lord  had 
spoken  unto  Moses,  and  did  the  signs  in  the  sight  of  the  people. 

31  And  the  people  believed  ;  wand  when  they  heard  that 
the  Lord  had  visited  the  children  of  Israel,  and  that  he  had 
looked  upon  their  affliction,  then  they  bowed  their  heads  x  and 
worshipped. 

CHAPTER  V. 

AND  afterward  Moses  and  Aaron  went  in  and  told  Pharaoh, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  Let  my  people  go,  that 
they  may  hold  a  feast  a  unto  me  in  the  wilderness. 

v  Ver.   16       w  ch.  3:  18; 
2Ch.  20  :  18.        a  ch.  10  :  9. 


ver.  8,9.        x  Ge.  17:  3;   24:  26;  ch.12:  27;    ICh.  29:  20; 


(Gr. — They  kissed  each  other.)  Ob- 
serve. The  distance  to  Egypt  was 
about  200  miles. 

28-31.  Moses  told  Aaron  all  as 
God  had  commanded  him  to  do.  (v. 
15.)  They  assembled  all  the  Elders 
of  the  people  of  Israel  in  Egypt. 
Aaron  was  now  about  83  years  old. 
Everything  goes  forward  according 
to  the  Divine  programme.  And 
Aaron  spake  (as  directed  in  v.  16) 
and  did  the  signs,  in  the  sight  of  the 
people.  These  were  such  signs  as 
had  been  directed  to  secure  the  faith 
of  the  people  of  Israel. — vs.  1-4. 
And  the  people  believed.  The  signs 
were  expressly  given  for  this  pur- 
pose (v.  5).  All  this  strong  evi- 
dence of  God's  interposition  on  their 
behalf,  and  of  His  regard  for  His 
people  in  their  distress,  filled  them 
with  the    spirit  of   devout  worship. 

Lessons. — (1)  God's  merciful  vis- 
itations should  provoke  our  grateful 
devotion.  (2)  Especially  God's  gra- 
cious interposition  through  Jesus 
Christ  for  our  deliverance  from  the 
bondage  of  Sin  and  Satan  ought  to 
prompt  our  grateful  praise.  (3) 
God's  servants  are  to  do  duty  fear- 
lessly and  faithfully,  and  to  leave 
results  in  His  hands.  (4)  If  the 
people  truly    believe,  it    is  by  a 


greater  work  than  these  miracles — 
even  the  Spirit's  miracle  upon  the 
mind  and  heart.  (5)  How  blessed 
in  trouble  is  it  to  mark  God's 
gracious  presence  and  blessing.  (6) 
We  ought  reverently  to  adore  and 
worship  our  Great  Deliverer  and 
Saviour. 

CHAP.  V. 

§  10.  Moses  and  Aaron  before 
Pharaoh  and  the  Sad  Re- 
sults.   Ch.  V.  1-23. 

1.  The  first  step  has  been  taken. 
The  covenant  people  believe  in  God. 
The  Divinely  commissioned  broth- 
ers appear  before  Pharaoh  and  make 
their  demand,  according  to  the  di- 
rection given  by  God  Himself  (ch. 
4 ).  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Is- 
rael. They  had  been  told  to  speak 
of  God  as  the  God  of  their  fathers 
(chs.  3,  4).  It  is  probable  that  some 
of  the  elders  accompanied  them  (ch. 
3  :  18).  The  immediate  object  only 
is  mentioned  to  Pharaoh.  To  de- 
mand more,  might  have  seemed  ex- 
travagant. If  he  will  not  consent 
to  the  less,  he  will  not  consent  to 
the  greater.  If  he  will  grant  this 
request,  then,  after  that,  they  would 


CHAPTER  V. 


57 


2  And  Pharaoh  said,  b  Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  obey 
his  voice  to  let  Israel  go  ?  I  know  not  the  Lord,  neither  will 
I  let  Israel  go. 

3  And  they  said,  the  God  of  the  c  Hebrews  hath  met  with 
ns  :  let  us  go,  we  pray  thee,  three  days'  journey  into  the  desert, 
and  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord  our  God  ;  lest  he  fall  upon  us  with 
pestilence,  d  or  with  the  sword. 

4  And  the  king  of  Egypt  said  unto  them,  Wherefore  do  ye, 
Moses  and  Aaron,  let  the  people  from  their  works  ?  get  you 
unto  your  burdens. 


b  2Ki.  IS:  35;  Job  21 :  15;  Pe.  12  :  4.        c  cli.3:  18. 


d  De. 


11;  Eze.  6:  11. 


ask  more,  and  would  more  fully 
express  their  wishes.  It  is  probable 
that  Pharaoh  would  understand 
this  as  a  simple  request  for  religious 
service  to  their  God,  since  all  na- 
tions were  wont  to  pay  homage  to 
their  deities  in  festivals  and  sacrifi- 
ces and  in  special  places.  The  wil- 
derness— outside  of  Egypt  towards 
Canaan,  as  being  retired  and  best 
suited  for  religious  ceremonies. 
The  King  probably  resided  at  Zoan, 
called  Avaris.  A  feast  would  in- 
clude all  the  service  of  sacrifice,  etc. 
It  is  more  fully  explained  in  v.  3. 
The  request  was  perfectly  reasona- 
ble. 

2.  Pharaoh's  reply  is  full  of 
stubbornness  and  bravado,  and  indi- 
cates the  hostility  of  his  heart. 
Who  is  Jehovah,  etc.  He  denies  any 
relation  or  obligation  to  Jehovah  ; 
/  knoio  not  Jehovah.  Pharaoh  de- 
nies all  knowledge  of  this  name,  as 
though  he  had  not  heard  of  such  a 
Being.  It  was  the  peculiar  Redemp- 
tive name  of  God.  He  was  a  wor- 
shipper of  the  gods  of  Egypt.  But 
his  predecessors  knew  the  God  of 
Israel  (Gen.  12  :  17,  41  ;  43  :  23). 
He  may  only  not  have  known  Him 
by  this  peculiar  name.  He  positive- 
ly refuses  their  request.  The  poli- 
cy of  the  Pharaohs  had  been  to  keep 
this  people  in  bondage. 

3.  These  ambassadors  reply  in  a 
way  to  enlighten  him,  explaining 
and  adding  particulars.  '1  he  God 
of  the  Hebrews.  This  title  he  would 
understand.  Besides  it  would  show 
why  they  needed  to  go  out  of  Egypt 


to  sacrifice.  Hath  met  with  vs. 
Another  form  of  the  word  in  ch.  3  ■ 
18,  rendered  the  same  in  both  places. 
The  Gr.  and  Vulg.  render  hath  call- 
ed us,  hath  revealed  Himself  to  us. 
The  distance  is  now  given  as  the 
limit  of  this  request  (ch.  3 :  18). 
And  this  is  according  to  the  Divine 
direction,  so  that  there  is  no  wicked 
dissembling.  The  request  is  made 
moderate,  anc  Pharaoh  knows  of  no 
ultimate  plans,  so  that  he  is  not  irri- 
tated by  any  extravagant  demand, 
and  has  full  opportunity  to  show 
his  wicked  obstinacy  and  defiance. 
They  plead  as  humble  petitioners. 
We  pray  thee — Lest.  They  now  de- 
clare themselves  moved  to  this  wor- 
ship by  the  fear  of  all  that  God 
could  do  in  punishing  their  neglect 
of  His  command,  intimating  thus  to 
Pharaoh  what  he  might  expect  if  he 
should  resist  God.  With  'pestilence, 
or  with  the  sicord.  Such  resources 
of  penalty  God  has  at  command. 
Therefore  it  is  no  light  thing  to 
resist  His  claim. 

4.  Instead  of  granting  them  any- 
thing, the  wicked  King  treats  them 
with  despotic  severity — accuses 
Moses  and  Aaron,  God's  messengers, 
of  letting — or  hindering  the  people 
from  their  works  as  bond-slaves — 
and  commands  them  and  those  who 
were  with  them  (the  elders)  to  get 
to  their  burdens — and  go  about  their 
business  as  slaves,  instead  of  agitat- 
ing such  a  question  of  withdraw- 
ment  from  work  for  purposes  of 
worship,  or  on  such  pretence. 

5.    Pharaoh  now    rebukes  the 


58 


EXODUS. 


5  And  Pharaoh  said,  Behold,  the  people  of  the  land  now 
are  many,  and  ye  make  them  rest  from  their  burdens. 

6  And  Pharaoh  commanded  the  same  day  the  task-masters 
of  the  people,  and  their  officers,  saying, 

7  Ye  shall  no  more  give  the  people  straw  to  make  brick,  as 
heretofore  :  let  them  go  and  gather  straw  for  themselves. 

8  And  the  tale  of  the  bricks,  which  they  did  make  hereto- 
fore, ye  shall  lay  e  upon  them  ;  ye  shall  not  diminish  ought 
thereof :  for  they  be  idle  ;  therefore  they  cry,  saying,  Let  us  go 
and  sacrifice  to  our  God. 

e  Ps.  106:  41. 


messengers,  Moses  and  Aaron,  as 
stirring  up  idle  schemes  among  the 
numerous  people  of  the  land — of  Go- 
shen— or  land-people — working  peo- 
ple— in  distinction  from  the  ruling 
classes  of  the  Egyptians  (Ezek.  7  : 
27).  Cessation  from  work,  among 
so  large  a  multitude,  was,  in  the 
King's  view,  dangerous  to  the  state. 
6-9.  The  King  would  now  rebuke 
the  spirit  of  idleness  and  freedom 
which  he  suspected  at  the  bottom 
of  this  movement.  He  will  take 
prompt  measures  for  crushing  out 
the  rising  spirit  of  the  people  by  in- 
creasing their  burdens.  He  com- 
manded, the  same  day,  the  task-mas- 
ters. No  time  was  to  be  lost,  and 
his  despotic  passion,  excited  by  the 
dignified  attitude  of  the  messengers, 
would  be  satisfied  with  no  delay 
and  no  half  measures.  The  task- 
masters were  those  Egyptian  over- 
seers who  urged  on  the  workmen 
with  the  whip  or  club.  And  their 
officers  were  the  clerks  of  these 
task-masters,  or  overseers,  who  kept 
the  accounts  and  gave  out  the  allot- 
ment of  work — the  tale  of  brick. 
(See  v.  14).  These  were  Hebrews, 
who  were  placed  over  their  brethren 
as  foremen — like  the  Arab  officers 
set  over  the  Arab  fellahs — the  poor 
laborers  in  modern  Egypt — as  sub- 
ordinates of  Government  officials 
— and  held  responsible  for  the  per- 
formance of  prescribed  labor.  — 
Hengstenberg.  (See  Deut.  20  :  1  etc.) 
Straw  was  no  longer  to  be  supplied 
to  the  people  to  make  brick.     It  was 


chopped  straw  mixed  with  the  clay, 
which  helped  to  make  the  brick  and 
gave  it  firmness.  The  brick  was  not 
burnt,  but  dried  in  the  sun.  Such 
fine  straw  is  found  in  the  composi- 
tion of  Egyptian  brick.  Rosellini 
says,  "  The  bricks  which  are  now 
found  in  Egypt  belonging  to  that 
period  always  have  straw  mingled 
with  them,  although  in  some  of 
those  that  are  most  carefully  made, 
it  is  found  in  small  quantities." 
Prokcsch  says,  "  The  bricks  of  the 
first  Pyramid  of  Dashow,  are  of  fine 
clay  from  the  Nile  mingled  with 
chopped  straw,  which  gives  them  an 
astonishing  durability."  We  have 
handled  these  bricks,  or  such  like 
in  Egypt.  The  people  were  now  to 
be  compelled  to  gather  their  own 
straw  and  thus  their  burdens  would 
be  increased,  while  they  were  re- 
quired to  make  the  same  tale  (or 
account)  of  brick,  as  before.  This 
was  in  order  to  oppress  them  more 
severely,  and  to  crush  their  spirits  ; 
so  as  to  discourage  any  plans  for  re- 
lease. Their  application  was  judged 
to  be  a  mere  pretence  for  getting 
rid  of  work.  Much  idleness  and  li- 
cense is  pleaded  for  in  the  name  of 
religion.  But  irreligion  also  falsely 
accuses  God's  people  of  hypocrisy 
when  they  plead  for  their  worship. 
Let  the  work  be  heavy  upon  the  men 
— (more  work  be  laid)  and  they  shall 
do  in  it  (stick  to  their  work)  and 
not  give  heed  to  lying  words.  So 
tyrannical  is  the  world-power  to- 
wards the  people  of  God,  willing  to 


CHAPTER  V. 


59 


9  Let  there  more  work  be  laid  upon  the  men,  that  they  may 
labour  therein  ;  and  let  them  not  regard  vain  f  words. 

10  And  the  task-masters  of  the  people  went  out,  and  their 
officers,  and  they  spake  to  the  people,  saying,  Thus  saith  Pha- 
raoh, I  will  not  give  you  straw. 

11  Go  ye,  get  you  straw  where  ye  can  find  it, :  yet  not 
ought  of  your  work  shall  be  diminished. 

12  So  the  people  were  scattered  abroad  throughout  all  the 
land  of  Egypt,  to  gather  stubble  instead  of  straw. 

13  And  the  task-masters  hasted  them,  saying,  Fulfil  your 
works,  your  daily  tasks,  as  when  there  was  straw. 

14  And  the  officers  of  the  children  of  Israel,  which  Pha- 
raoh's task-masters  had  set  over  them,  were  beaten,  and  de- 
manded, Wherefore  have  ye  not  fulfilled  your  task  in  making 
brick,  both  yesterday  and  to-day,  as  heretofore  ? 

15  Then  the  officers  of  the  children  of  Israel  came  and  cried 
unto  Pharaoh,  saying,  Wherefore  dealest  thou  thus  with  thy 
servants  ? 

16  There  is  no  straw  given  unto  thy  servants,  and  they  say 
to  us,  Make  brick :  and,  behold,  thy  servants  are  beaten,  but 
the  fault  is  in  thine  own  people. 

17  But  he  said,  Ye  are  idle,  ye  are  idle,  therefore  ye  say,  Let 
us  go  and  do  sacrifice  to  the  Lord. 

f  2Ki.  18:  20. 


crush  out  tlie  Church,  from  the 
earth.  The  "  lying  words "  were 
the  statements  of  the  messengers 
which  were  pronounced  false  by 
Pharaoh.  So  the  Scripture  is 
charged  with  being  unhistorical,  or 
fabulous,  or  a  mere  religious  tra- 
dition, by  scoffers  of  our  day. 

10-14.  The  command  of  Pharaoh 
was  promptly  made  known  to  the 
Israelites.  Go  ye,  fetch  to  you  straic 
from  where  you  shall  find  it— for  it 
is  not  diminished  from  your  icork,  a 
thing — anything.  So  the  people  were 
dispersed  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt  to 
gather  stubble  for  the  straic  (for  this 
purpose) — the  stubble  left  in  the 
cornfields.  Not  instead  of  straw, 
but  for  this  purpose.  The  taskmas- 
ters were  urgent  saying,  Fill  up — 
complete — your  works — (Heb.)  the 
matter  (or  business)  of  a  day  in 
his  day  —  your  daily  task  —  like 
as  in  there  being    the  straw — the 


same  as  when  the  straw  was  sup- 
plied to  you.  The  office ?-s — clerks, 
accountants,  foremen — of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  were  beaten.  These 
were  Israelites,  whom  the  taskmas- 
ters had  set  over  the  people  as  over- 
seers, responsible  for  the  full 
amount  of  work.  The  beating  was 
by  the  bastinado,  as  is  shown  in 
the  pictures  found  upon  the  Egyp- 
tian monuments.  "  Men  and  boys 
are  laid  prostrate  on  the  ground  and 
frequently  held  by  the  hands  and 
feet,  while  the  punishment  is  ad- 
ministered."—  Wilkinson,  Rosellini, 
cited  by  Hengstenberg.  The  time 
was  in  early  spring — about  April — 
when  the  Ghamsin,  or  sand-wind, 
blows  over  Egypt,  which  would  in- 
crease their  suffering. 

15-19.  Complaint  is  now  made 
by  the  foremen,  of  this  cruel  treat- 
ment, and  the  case  is  stated  to  the 
King,   that  the    refusal  to   supply 


EXODUS. 


18  Go  therefore  now,  and  work  ;  for  there  shall  no  straw  be 
given  yon,  yet  shall  ye  deliver  the  tale  of  bricks. 

19  And  the  officers  of  the  children  of  Israel  did  see  that 
they  icere  in  evil  &  case,  after  it  was  said,  Ye  shall  not  minish 
aught  from  your  bricks  of  your  daily  task. 

20  And  they  met  Moses  and  Aaron,  who  stood  in  the  way, 
as  they  came  forth  from  Pharaoh  ; 

21  And  they  said  unto  them,  The  Loed  look  upon  you,  and 
judge ;  because  ye  have  made  our  savour  to  be  abhorred  h  in 
the  eyes  of  Pharaoh,  and  in  the  eyes  of  his  servants,  to  put  a 
sword  in  their  hand  to  slay  us. 

22  And  Moses  returned  unto  the  Lord,  and  said,  Lord, 
wherefore  hast  thou  so  evil-entreated  *  this  people  ?  why  is  it 
that  thou  hast  sent  me  ? 

23  For  since  I  came  to  Pharaoh  to  speak  in  thy  name,  he 
hath  done  evil  to  this  people  ;  neither  hast  thou  delivered  thy 
people  at  all. 


g  De.  32:  36;  Ec.  4:  1;  5: 
i  Je.  20:  7;  Ha.  2:  3. 


h  Ge.  34:  30;  ISa.  13:  4;  27:  12;  2Sa.  10:  6;  ICh.  19:  6. 


straw,  required  their  time  and  labor 
to  gather  it,  and  they  could  not  f  ul- 
fil  the  same  task  of  brick  as  before. 
The  charge  of  idleness  and  hypoc- 
risy was  repeated,  as  the  only  reply  ; 
while  the  demand  of  work  was  to 
be  insisted  on  without  any  abate- 
ment. The  Israelitish  officers  (fore- 
men) saw  the  evil  (case)  they  were 
in — (Heb)  saiv  them  in  evil,  saying, 
The  King's  unrelaxed  order  was  the 
bitter  cup  for  them,  cutting  off  all 
hope  from  that  quarter.  16.  The 
fault,  lit.  Thy  people  sin.  This 
was  their  complaint. 

20, 21.  They  met— Heb.— fell  upon 
— implying  severity  or  hostility — the 
same  verb  as  in  v.  3.  Moses  and 
Aaron  seem  to  have  been  waiting 
outside,  to  learn  the  result  of  their 
mission.  The  blame  of  their  new 
hardships  was  cast  upon  Moses  and 
Aaron.  Jehovah  look  upon  you  and 
judge — condemn — because  ye  have 
made  the  smell  of  us  to  stink  before 
Pharaoh.  Their  odor  or  repute  was 
made  most  disgusting  and  repulsive 
to  the  King  and  his  servants — the 
task-masters— fa  gvoe  a  sword  into 
their  hand  to  kill  us.  This  was  de- 
clared to  be  the  fatal  working   of 


Moses'  and  Aaron's  mission.  They 
had  prejudiced  the  King  by  this  ap- 
plication and  had  made  him  enraged 
against  them  as  idlers,  agitators, 
and  vain  pretenders,  and  so  had  only 
armed  him  with  a  sword  for  their 
ruin. 

22,  23.  Moses  now  brings  the 
matter  before  Jehovah  for  explana- 
tion. Wherefore  hast  thou  done 
evil  to  this  people.  Ho  sees  all  his 
mission  seemingly  working  damage 
instead  of  deliverance  to  the  Israel- 
ites, and  naturally  he  inquires  why 
God  has  sent  him.  Augustine  says 
"  These  are  not  words  of  contumacy 
or  indignation,  but  of  inquiry  and 
prayer."  The  question  and  com- 
plaint, says  Delitzsch ,  proceeded  from 
faith  which  flies  to  God  when  it 
cannot  understand  the  dealings  of 
God.  Trouble  drives  God's  people 
to  prayer,-^-and  prayer  brings  the  re- 
lief. Often  God  seems  to  work  ad- 
versely at  first  in  order  to  make  the 
coming  blessing  more  valued.  The 
darkest  moment  is  immediately  be- 
fore the  dawn.  "  In  the  mount  the 
Lord  will  be  seen."  We  are  prone 
to  be  impatient,  and  to  take  delays 
on  God's  part  to  be  the  evidences  of 


CHAPTER  VI. 


61 


CHAPTER  VI. 

rpHEX  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Xow  shalt  thou  see  what  a 
JL    I  will  do  to  Pharaoh :  for  with  a  strong  hand  b  shall  he  let 
them  go,  and  with  a  strong  hand  shall  he  drive  them  c  out  of 
his  land. 

2  And  God  spake  unto  Moses,  and  said  unto  him,  I  am  the 
Lord  : 

3-  And  I   appeared   unto   Abraham,  unto   Isaac,  and   unto 
Jacob,  by  the  name  of  God  d  Almighty  ;  but  by  my  name  e 
JEHOVAH  was  I  not  known  to  them. 


a  2Ch.  20:  IT;   Ps.  12:  5.      b  Ps.  89:  13.      cch.ll:  1. 
e  ch.  3:  14;  Ps.  03:  4;  83:  18;  Is.  42:  8;  Jno.  8:  58;  Ee.  1;  4 


d  Ge.  17:  1;   35:  11;  48:  3. 


His  unfaithfulness.  So  Moses  and 
Aaron  complain  that  all  had  worked 
badly  since  their  coming,  and  that 
God  had  not  delivered  His  people 
at  all. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

§11.  Jehovah's  Promise— Ch.  VI, 
1—8. 

The  time  has  now  come  for  God 
to  work.  Jehovah  replies  to  Moses' 
complaints,  Now  thou  shalt  see 
what  I  will  do  to  Pharaoh.  This  at 
once  answers  the  complaints  and 
shows  that  He  has  a  plan  for  re- 
quiting Pharaoh.  God  does  not 
move  before  the  time  to  meet  any 
cavil,  but  at  the  proper  time  He 
moves,  and  silences  cavil  and  the 
caviller.  "  Only  with  thine  eyes 
shalt  thou  behold  and  see  the  re- 
ward of  the  wicked." — Ps.  91. 
With,  or  by  a  strong  7iandh.e  shall 
let  them  go  (ch.  3  :  19).  The  phrase 
is  repeated  with  emphasis  and  ap- 
plied to  Pharaoh's  actually  driv- 
ing them  out  of  the  land  for  fear 
of  them.  "  Egypt  was  glad  when 
they  departed,  for  the  fear  of  them 
fell  upon  them."— Ps.  105:  38. 

2,  3.  God  deems  it  worth  while 
at  this  solemn  crisis  of  His  judgment 
to  announce  Himself  by  His  pecu- 
liar redemptive  name,  i"  Jehovah. 
He  further  associates  this  dealing 
with  all  the  past  covenant  dealings, 


as  all  along  moving  forward  in  the 
sphere  of  Redemption.  To  the  pa- 
triarchs He  had  not  so  fully  re- 
vealed Himself  as  a  personal  Re- 
deemer, but  By  the  name  of  God 
Almighty  Heb.  El  Shaddai  (Gen.  17: 
1.)  This  is  the  name  which  reveals 
God  as  Omnipotent.  Eicald  admits 
this  name  to  be  the  expression  of 
the  thought  of  the  Patriarchs,  find- 
ing in  it  the  truth,  that  "  He  who  is 
alone  rightly  called  the  Almighty 
God,  can  only  be  One  before  whom 
all  plurality  and  distinctions  of  Di- 
vine natures  disappear."  He  was 
known  to  them  as  El  Shaddai,  the 
Potent,  but  not  as  Jehovah,  the 
Agent.  This  peculiar  name  Jeho- 
vah was  surely  in  common  use 
before  this  time,  (Genesis,  ch.  2:  4,) 
where  it  appears  first  in  combina- 
tion with  Elohim,  (Gen.  4 :  1)  as 
used  by  Eve.  So  Exod.  3:  14,  16; 
4:1,  shows  it  to  have  been  familiar. 
At  the  institution  of  the  covenant 
with  Abraham,  God  said  to  him, 
I  am  El  Shaddai,  God  Almighty — 
Omnipotent  to  perform.  This  in- 
cited faith  in  the  promise.  And  so 
God  wrought  for  him,  to  prove  His 
omnipotency.  Xow  there  is  a  sec- 
ond step  to  be  taken  in  the  covenant 
working  and  in  the  development  of 
God's  Redeeming  Plan.  God  is 
now  and  henceforth  to  show  Him- 
self as  Jehovah,  acting  in  the  ca- 
pacity  of    Redeemer    in    the   first 


63 


EXODUS. 


4  And  I  have  also  established  my  covenant  f  with  them,  to 
give  them  the  land  of  Canaan,  the  land  of  their  pilgrimage, 
wherein  they  were  strangers. 

5  And  I  have  also  heard  the  s  groaning  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  whom  the  Egyptians  keep  in  bondage  ;  and  I  have  h  re- 
membered my  covenant. 

6  Wherefore  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  am  the  Lord, 
and  I  will  bring  you  out  i  from  under  the  burdens  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, and  I  will  rid  you  out  of  their  bondage ;  and  I  will  J  re- 
deem you  with  a  stretched-out  arm,  and  with  great  judgments  : 

7  And  I  will  take  you  to  me  k  for  a  people,  and  I  will  be  to 
you  a  God  :  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God, 
which  bringeth  you  out  from  under  the  burdens  of  the  Egyp- 
tians. 


f  Ge.  17:7,8.      gch.  2:  24;  Ps.  106:44. 
j  cb.  15 :  13;  De.  7 :  8;  lCh.  17:  21 ;  Ne.  1 :  10. 
1:  10;  Re.  21:  3,7. 


h  Ps.   105:  8.  i  De.  26:  8;  Ps.  81:  6. 

k  De.  4:  20;  2Sa.  7:  24;  Je.  31 :  33;  Ho. 


great  act  of  Redemption  by  means 
of  a  Personal  Leader  (Moses)  as  the 
type  of  the  Personal  Deliverer — 
the  Messiah.  The  meaning  then  is 
not  that  this  name  Jehovah  had  not 
been  known,  but  that  He  was  not 
known  to  them  in  this  capacity,  or 
with  such  Redeeming  display  as 
was  now  to  be  manifest.  They  had 
often  used  this  name.  Gen.  12  : 
1,7,  8;  14:  22;  15:  2,6;  17  :  1  ; 
18  :  27  ;  31 :  33  ;  22  :  14  ;  25  :  21  ; 
28:  13,16,21.  The  name  Jehovah 
already  known  is  now  to  be  made 
more  fully  and  gloriously  manifest. 
4,  5.  This  name  implies  fidelity 
to  a  covenant.  This  is  fixed  as  the 
basis  of  proceeding.  He  will  act 
according  to  it,  and  will  act  up  to 
it.  And  in  making  known  His 
name,  He  will  deliver  them  from 
bondage  and  will  give  to  them  the 
Land  of  Canaan.  This  latter, 
which  is  the  result  of  the  deliver- 
ance, is  put  first,  for  that  is  the 
great  object  and  end  in  view.  The 
fulfilment  of  promises  already 
made  would  confirm  their  faith  for 
the  future.  1  have  established  my 
covenant  with  them  (the  fathers) 
Gen.  15  ;  18  ;  17 :  4,  7,  to  give  them 
— this  was  the  Divine  territorial 
grant — the  Land  of  Canaan — to 
them  as  a  people — the  land  of  their 


pilgrimage — where  they  dwelt  in 
tents  and  had  no  inheritance  (Heb. 
11  :9  i)  though  heirs  together  of  the 
country.  There  was  to  be  a  display 
of  God's  nature  and  purposes  in  the 
sphere  of  grace  and  Redemption 
more  glorious  than  by  any  displays 
of  miraculous  powers.  Besides  the 
time  had  come  for  God  to  work  and 
fulfil  his  covenant  promise — '  For  I 
have  heard  the  groanings,'  etc. 
'  Man's  extremity  is  God's  oppor- 
tunity.' Whom  the  Egyptians  keep 
in  bondage — so  persistently — and  I 
have  remembered  my  covenant.  It 
had  not  passed  from  His  mind.  He 
kept  it  in  vivid  remembrance  both 
as  to  the  thing  promised  and  as  to 
the  time  for  the  performance. — Gen. 
15:  10,  11. 

6,  7.  Wherefore  say — God  now 
authorizes  the  public  announce- 
ment of  His  purpose  prefacing  the 
declaration  by  His  Redemptive 
Name.  I  am  Jehovah — and  in  pur- 
suance of  this  title,  I  will  bring  you 
out,  etc. — with  a  stretched  out  arm, 
v.  1.  This  indicates  the  great 
'judgment'  which  he  undertakes  to 
execute.  And  I  will  take  you  to  me 
for  a  people.  This  is  the  covenant 
relation  which  He  now  is  to  estab- 
lish with  them  as  a  people.  It  had 
been   instituted  with  their  fathers 


CHAPTER  VI. 


8  And  I  will  bring  you  in  unto  the  land,  concerning  the 
which  I  did  swear  to  give  it  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to  Ja- 
cob; and  I  will  give  it  you  for  an  heritage :  I  am  the  Loed. 

9  And  Moses  spake  so  unto  the  children  of  Israel :  but  they 
hearkened  not l  unto  Moses  for  anguish  of  spirit,  and  for  cruel 
bondage. 

10  And  the  Loed  spake  unto  Moses,  saying, 

11  Go  in,  speak  unto  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  that  he  let 
the  children  of  Israel  go  out  of  his  land. 

12  And  Moses  spake  before  the  Loed,  saying,  Behold,  the 
children  of  Israel  have  m  not  hearkened  unto  me ;  how  then 
shall  Pharaoh  hear  me,  who  am  of  n  uncircumcised  lips  ? 

13  And  the  Lord  spake  unto    Moses  and  unto  Aaron,  and 

lch.5:  21.     mVer.9.     n  Ver.  30;  Le  .  26:  41;  Je.  9 :  26;  Ac.  7:  51. 

enant  and  seals.  (7)  It  is  a  high 
privilege  to  be  the  believing  chil- 
dren of  pious  parents.  It  is  a  great 
disgrace  to  disown  or  deny  our  fath- 
ers' God. 

§  12.  Moses'  Discouragement. 
—  God's  Command. — Their 
Genealogies.— Ch.  VI,  9-30. 

9.  For  anguish,  (Heb.)  for  short- 
ness of  breath,  or  straitness  of  spirit 
— depression.  The  severity  of  their 
bondage  crushed  their  hope  and  did 
not  allow  any  confidence.  The  dif- 
ferent condition  of  the  people  led 
to  a  different  reception  from  that  in 
ch.  4 :  31. 

10-1 2.  Again  Jehovah  bids  Moses 
go  in  unto  Pharaoh  and  make  his 
demand.  Moses  objects  that  al- 
ready he  has  failed  to  impress  the 
people  of  Israel,  and  how  then  shall 
Pharaoh  hear  me,  icho  (am)  of  un- 
circumcised lips,  (Chald.)  of  heavy 
speech.  (Gr.)  a?uoyoc  without  speech, 
the  lips  covered  with  a  foreskin 
hindering  the  words,  is  the  first 
idea — hesitating  speech — without 
fluency.  So  here.  See  v.  30. 
(Then  the  lips  unrenewed — as  cir- 
cumcision was  a  token  of  renewal 
of  nature.)  (Syr.)  Mine  is  a  stam- 
mering tongue.  See  ch.  4  :  10.  See 
also  v.  30.  There  the  objection  is 
more  fully  answered.  No  natural 
defect  is  meant. 

13.  This   repeated    objection  is 


when  they  were  only  a  family. 
Now,  since  their  development  in 
Egypt  from  a  family  to  a  Nation, 
God  will  formally  establish  His  cov- 
enant relation  to  them  in  this  new 
light.  See  Deut,  29  :  13.  The- for- 
mal adoption  of  Israel  as  a  nation 
took  place  at  Sinai  (ch.  19 :  5.) 
There  He  will  make  Himself  known 
to  them  as  Jehovah,  your  (covenant) 
God,  which  bringeth  you  out,  etc. 
— Exod.  30  :  2. 

8.  He  will  also  bring  them  into 
Canaan — which  I  have  lifted  up  my 
hand  to  give  it,  etc, — the  gesture  of 
an  oath,  lifting  the  hand  towards 
heaven.  Deut.  32  :  40.  Comp.  Gen. 
14;  22.  1  1  the  Lord  {Jehovah) 
will  do  it. 

Lessons. — (1)  God  will  have  His 
people  see  what  He  can  do.  (2) 
God  reveals  Himself  as  Redeemer 
by  His  gracious  redemptive  works. 
In  daily  Providence  He  shows  Him- 
self to  us  as  the  God  of  grace.  (3) 
To  the  mere  reason  God  shows  Him- 
self as  Creator.  But  there  is  a  time 
when  to  each  of  His  own  people  He 
makes  Himself  known  as  Redeemer, 
Saviour.  (4)  God's  glory  is  to  re- 
veal Himself  to  us  in  grace  as  our 
covenant  Jehovah,  (o)  God  claims 
that  He  is  ours,  and  we  are  His — 
and  blessed  are  they  who  see  and 
rejoice  in  this  relation.  (6)  God 
remembers  His  covenant  with  the 
fathers,  and  blessed  are  they  who 
honor  and  prize  the  household  cov- 


64 


EXODUS. 


gave  them  a  °  charge  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  unto  Pha- 
raoh king  of  Egypt,  to  bring  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

14  These  be  the  heads  of  their  fathers'  houses:  p  the  sons  of 
Reuben,  the  first-born  of  Israel;  Ilanoch,  and  Pallu,  Ilezron, 
and  Carmi:  these  be  the  families  of  Reuben. 

15  And  <i  the  sons  of  Simeon;  Jemuel,  and  Jamin,  and 
Ohad,  and  Jachin,  and  Zohar,  and  Shanl,  the  son  of  a  Canaan- 
itish  woman :  these  are  the  families  of  Simeon. 

16  And  these  are  the  names  of  the  sons  of  r  Levi,  accord- 
ing to  their  generations:  Gershon,  and  Kohath,  and  Merari. 
And  the  years  of  the  life  of  Levi  were  an  hundred  thirty  and 
seven  years. 

17  The  sons  of  Gershon;  Libni  and  Shimi,  according  to 
their  families. 

18  And  the  sons  of  Kohath;  s  Amram,  and  Izhar,  and  Heb- 
ron, and  Uzziel.  And  the  years  of  the  life  of  Kohath  were  an 
hundred  thirty  and  three  years. 

o  Nu.  27:  19,23;  De.  31:  14. p  Ge.  46:  9,  etc.;  ICh.  5:3.      q  ICh.  4:  24.      r  Nu.  3:  17; 
1  Ch.  6  :  1. 


met  by  a  repeated  charge  to  go  for- 
ward to  the  work  of  deliverance. 
Before  proceeding  further  in  the 
narrative,  the  record  is  here  given 
in  brief  of  the  genealogy  of  Moses 
and  Aaron.  For  these  men  stand 
in  special  relation  to  the  family  and 
nation  of  Israel,  just  as  the  deliver- 
ance which  they  are  charged  to  ef- 
fect stands  as  the  first  great  histori- 
cal type  of  the  redemption  by  Christ 
Jesus,  under  a  Personal  Lawgiver, 
Mediator,  Prophet,  and  Leader, 
Moses.  Properly  enough,  there- 
fore, the  historian  would  here  give 
their  genealogy  in  connection  with 
this  eminent  work  to  which  they 
are  called. 

14-17.  These  are  the  heads  of 
their  fathers'  houses.  A  question  is 
raised  here  whether  these  are  the 
genealogies  of  three  tribes,  or  even 
of  the  tribe  of  Levi  for  four  gene- 
rations, or  only  a  genealogy  of  the 
heads  of  Israelite  families  and  of  a 
few  names  conspicuous  in  the  his- 
tory. It  is  plainly  the  latter.  Ac- 
cording to  the  methods  of  gene- 
alogy in  Israel  there  were  subdivis- 
ions  into  tribes,  thence  into    the 


families — mishpachoth — and  these 
into  the  larger  divisions,  the  fathers' 
houses.  The  names  are  given  of 
such  of  Reuben's  and  Simeon's 
sons  as  were  the  founders  of  fami- 
lies, and  then  Levi  and  his  three 
sons  are  given  as  he  was  the  tribe- 
father  of  Moses  and  Aaron.  Am- 
ram, the  son  of  Kohath,  was  not 
the  same  Amram  as  the  father  of 
Moses,  and  an  indefinitely  long  list 
of  generations  has  been  omitted  be- 
tween the  former  and  his  descend- 
ant of  the  same*  name  Colenso 
claims  that  we  have  the  entire  list 
here,  and  that  there  is  only  an  in- 
crease of  one  thousand  in  38  years, 
whereas  it  should  have  been  an  in- 
crease of  some  26,000,  according  to 
the  rates  of  English  increase.  All 
this  inference  from  English  increase 
is  arbitrary  and  the  assumption  that 
the  whole  list  is  given  is  the  false 
ground  of  his  objection  to  this  part 
of  the  history.  Besides,  Colenso 
claims  that  the  Exodus  was  in  the 
fourth  descent,  or  that  of  grandsons, 
grandsons  of  the  Patriarchs,  which 
is  sheer  mistake.  This  question  is 
treated  at  length  by  Birks  on  the 


CHAPTER  VI. 


65 


19  And  the  sons  of  Merari ;  Mahali,  and  Mnshi ;  these  are 
the  families  of  Levi,  according  to  their  generations. 

20  And  Araram  took  him  Jochebed,  his  father's  sister,  to 
wife  ;  and  she  bare  him  Aaron  and  Moses.  And  the  years  of 
the  life  of  Amram  were  an  hundred  and  thirty  and  seven  years. 

21  And  the  sons  of  Izhar;  l  Korah,  and  Nepheg,  and 
Zichri. 

22  And  the  sons  of  Uzziel;  u  Mishael,  and  Elzaphan,  and 
Zithri. 

23  And  Aaron  took  him  Elisheba,  daughter  of v  Ammin- 
adab,  sister  of  Naashon,  to  wife;  and  she  bare  him  w  Nadab, 
and  Abihu,  Eleazar,  and  Ithamar. 

24  And  the  sons  of  Korah  ;  Assir,  and  Elkanah,  Abiasaph  ; 
these  are  the  families  of  the  Korhites. 

25  And  Eleazar,  Aaron's  son,  took  him  one  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Putiel  to  wife:  and  she  bare  him  Phinehas;  x  these  are 
the  heads  of  the  fathers  of  the  Levites,  according  to  their  fam- 
ilies. 

26  These  are  that  Aaron  and  Moses,  to  whom  the  Lord 
said,  Bring  out  the  children  of  Israel  from  the  land  of  Egypt 
according  to  their  armies. 

27  These  are  they  which  spake  to  ?  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt, 


s  Nu.  26  :  5"i 
24:  33. 


t  Nu.  16:  1.     u  Le.  10:  4.    v  Ru.  4:  19.    w  lCh. 


!;  24:  1.    x  Jos. 


Exodus  of  Israel.  See  also  Delitzsch 
and  Murphy. 

20.  We  are  brought  down  in  the 
list  to  the  parentage  of  Moses  and 
Aaron.  Amram  married  his  aunt, 
as  wa'S  allowed  at  that  day,  though 
afterwards  forbidden,  (Lev.  18). 
See  ch  2  :  1.  It  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  these  were  the  only  chil- 
dren of  Amram.  He  was,  proba- 
bly, about  a  hundred  years  old  at 
Moses'  birth,  and  it  is  not  likely 
that  these  were  all  his  children — 
Moses,  Aaron  and  Miriam — both  the 
latter  elder  than  Moses.  (Numb. 
26  :  59.)  The  list  is  given  so  far  as 
any  names  of  interest  in  the  after 
history  are  concerned,  Korah  (Num. 
16.)  Uzziel's  sons  (Lev.  10  :  4.)  The 
genealogy  traces  the  descent  of  the 
leading  priestly  families.  Aaron's 
and  Eleazar's  wives  are  given. 

23.  Elisheba.  (Gr.)  E?,uja3er— 
Elizabeth.  She  was  the  fifth  in  de 
scent  from  Judah,  while  Aaron  was 


only  the  fourth  from  Levi  by  his 
father's  side  and  the  third  by  his 
mother's.  This  shows  the  disparity 
in  the  number  of  generations  in 
different  lines.  Aaron's  sons  occur 
in  the  history  hereafter.  None  of 
the  sons  of  Moses  are  mentioned  in 
this  list,  because  his  dignity  did 
not  descend  in  any  line  as  Aaron's. 

24.  The  sons  of  Korah.  See 
Num.26:  11. 

25.  Phinehas — the  sixth  [inclu- 
sive] from  Levi  and  the  seventh 
from  Judah. 

Plainly  these  fragments  from  the 
genealogical  tables  are  inserted 
here  with  an  object  to  make  clear 
the  position  of  these  ambassadors 
in  their  relation  to  the  covenant 
family  and  nation. 

26.  27.  These  are  that  Aaron 
and  Moses.  These  are  the  men, 
and  this  is  their  lineage.  Aaron's 
name  is  here  given  first,  as  the 
elder  and  the  representative  of  the 


C6 


EXODUS. 


to  bring  out  the  children  of  Israel  z  from  Egypt ;  these  are  that 
Moses  and  Aaron. 

28  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  day  when  the  Lord  spake 
unto  Moses  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 

29  That  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  I  am  the  Lord; 
speak  thou  unto  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt  all  a  that  I  say  unto 
thee. 

30  And  Moses  said  before  the  Lord,  Behold,  I  am  of  b  un- 
circumcised  lips,  and  how  shall  Pharaoh  hearken  unto  me  ? 

CHAPTER  VII. 

AND  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  See,  I  have  made  thee  a  god  a 
to  Pharaoh ;  and  Aaron  thy  brother  shall  be  thy  prophet. 
2  Thou  shalt  speak  all  b  that  I  command  thee;  and  Aaron 
thy  brother  shall  speak  unto  Pharaoh,  that  he  send  the  children 
of  Israel  out  of  his  land. 


z  ch.  33:  1;  Ps.  77:  20;  Mi.  6:  4.      a  Je.  1;  7,  8,  17;23:28;  26:  2;  Eze.  2: 
Ma.  28:  20.    b  Ver.  12.     a  Ps.  82 :  6;  Jno.  10:  35.     b  ch.  6:  29. 


7;  3:11; 


line  of  Levi.  But  in  v.  27,  where  the 
connection  is  with  the  subsequent 
history,  the  order  is  reversed/  These, 
are  that  Moses  and  Aaron,'  as  Mo- 
ses was  to  take  the  leading  part. 

28.  Here  the  history  of  the  de- 
liverance is  resumed  from  v.  12. 

29.  1  am  Jehovah.  Thus  He  is 
making  Himself  known  by  His 
name  Jehovah — Covenant  God  and 
Redeemer.  This  is  the  ample  war- 
rant for  Moses  to  go  forward,  not 
fearing  the  face  of  man. 

80.  Moses  repeats  his  objection 
from  personal  infirmity,  as  already 
noticed,  and  God  will  most  fully 
meet  it  now. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

§  13.  Miracle  Accrediting  their 
Mission.    Ch.  VII :  1-13. 

It  is  commonly  admitted  that 
the  deliverance  of  Israel  must  have 
resulted  not  from  an  uprising  of 
the  dependent  and  powerless  peo- 
ple, nor  from  a  foreign  invasion, 
but  from  heavy  calamities  forcing 
at  length  a  surrender  which  the 
government  could  no  longer  refuse 


or  prevent.  Stanley  says  that,  "In 
all  outward  appearance,  as  the  chief 
of  the  Tribe  of  Levi,  as  the  head  of 
the  family  of  Arnram,  as  the  spokes- 
man and  interpreter,  as  the  first 
who  spake  to  the  people  and  to 
Pharaoh  all  the  words  which  the 
Lord  had  spoken  to  Moses  and  who 
did  the  signs  in  the  sight  of  the  peo- 
ple, as  the  permanent  inheritor  of  the 
sacred  staff  or  rod,  the  emblem  of 
rule  and  power,  Aaron,  not  Moses, 
must  have  been  the  representative 
and  leader  of  Israel.  But  Moses 
was  the  inspiring,  informing  soul 
within  and  behind — and  Moses  the 
dumb,  backward,  disinterested  pro- 
phet continues  for  all  ages  the  fore- 
most leader  of  the  chosen  People, 
the  witness  that  something  more  is 
needed  for  man's  guidance  than  the 
high,  hereditary  office,  or  the  gift  of 
fluent  speech." — Jewish  Hist.  p.  127. 
1,  2.  See,  1  have  made  thee  a  god 
to  Pharaoh.  He  was  appointed, 
constituted  God's  representative  in 
dealing  with  Pharaoh,  armed  with 
Divine  judgments,  etc.  In  ch.  4: 
10,  Moses  was  to  be  a  god  to  Aaron, 
and  Aaron  is  here  to  be  his  prophet 
to  announce  to  Pharaoh  the  Divine 


CHAPTER  VII. 


67 


3  And  I  will  c  harden  Pharaoh's  heart,  and  multiply  my 
signs  and  my  wonders  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

4  But  Pharaoh  shall  not  hearken  unto  you,  that  I  may  lay 
my  hand  upon  Egypt,  and  bring  forth  mine  armies,  and  my 
people  the  children  of  Israel,  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  by  great 
judgments. 

5  And  the  Egyptians  shall  know  that  I  am  the  d  Lord,  when 
I  stretch  forth  mine  hand  upon  Egypt,  and  bring  out  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  from  among  them. 

6  And  Moses  and  Aaron  did  as  the  Lord  commanded  them, 
bo  did  they. 

7  And  Moses  teas  fourscore  years  old,  and  Aaron  fourscore 
and  three  years  old,  when  they  spake  unto  Pharaoh. 

8  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  unto  Aaron,  saying, 

9  When  Pharaoh  shall  speak  unto  you,  saying,  Shew  a  mi- 
racle e  for  you ;  then  thou  shalt  say  unto  Aaron,  Take  thy  rod, 
and  cast  it  before  Pharaoh,  and  it  shall  become  a  serpent. 

c  ch.  11:  9.        d  ch.  14:  4,  18;  Ps.  9  :  16.        e  Matt.  12:  39;  Jno.  2:  18. 

revelations  given  to  Moses.  Their 
respective  work  is  here  laid  down 
— what  part  each  of  them  is  to  act 
in  the  great  mission — that  he  send. 
Rather — And  so  he  will  send. 

3.  Here  the  part  of  God  in  the 
matter  is  revealed  beforehand  in 
that  awful  process  of  heart-harden- 
ing. Here  the  word  means  "  I  will 
indurate" — make  obstinate.  God's 
agency  to  this  effect,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  no  severity,  but  only  the 
natural  working  of  the  Divine  deal- 
ing upon  a  depraved  heart,  whereas 
the  effect  would  have  been  the  very 
opposite  upon  a  virtuous  nature. 
God  however,  has  his  plans,  and  no 
Pharaoh  can  baffle  them.  He  propo- 
ses in  the  same  great  programme,  to 
multiply  His  signs  and  His  wonders 
in  the  land  of  Egypt.  These  ought 
to  have  broken  down  his  opposition 
and  enlightened  his  mind  in  the 
knowledge  of  God.  But  they  were 
the  means  of  making  him  harder, 
not  the  cause  of  the  hardening. 

4.  But  Pharaoh  shall  not  heark- 
en., lit.,  will  not  hear.  There  is 
nothing  imperative  here.  That  I 
may  lay,  etc.,  lit.,  and  I  will  lay 
my  hand,  etc.  The  nation  of  Egypt 
was  to  be  scourged  for  the  sin  of 


the  king,  because  they  were  repre- 
sented by  him  and  sympathized 
with  him,  and  were  held  righteously 
answerable.  My  Jiosts,  my  armies. 
This  refers  to  them  as  going  forth 
in  military  array. — ch.  13  :  18  ;  12  : 
51.     Comp.  Num.  1,  6. 

5.  The  effect  upon  the  Egyptians 
is  here  stated.  They  shall  know 
that  1  am  Jehovah.  Not  merely  to 
deliver  Israel  would  He  work  these 
miracles,  but  to  destroy  in  Egypt 
the  system  of  their  idolatry. 

6.  The  venerable  age  of  these 
brother  messengers  is  now  given  as 
eighty  and  eighty-three — every  way 
calculated  to  command  respect  and 
attention.  This  was  their  prime 
— and  not  more  than  forty  now,  in 
proportion  to  the  average  lifetime. 

8,  9.  Direction  is  now  given  for 
satisfying  Pharaoh's  demand  for 
evidence  of  their  Divine  commis- 
sions. Shew  a  miracle  for  you,  Heb. 
Give  a  miracle  (omen)  for  you.  This 
was  in  the  tone  of  challenge — not 
pledging  himself  to  be  convinced — 
but  rather  defying  them  to  do  any- 
thing supernatural.  A  miracle  was 
recognized  as  the  sufficient  attesta- 
tion of  a  Divine  commission.  It  be- 
longs to  the  very  idea  of  God  to  infer 


GS 


EXODUS. 


10  And  Moses  and  Aaron  went  in  unto  Pharaoh,  and  they 
did  so  as  the  Lord  had  commanded;  and  Aaron  cast  down  his 
rod  before  Pharaoh,  and  before  his  servants,  and  it  became  a 
serpent. 

11  Then  Pharaoh  also  called  the  wise  men  and  f  the  sorcer- 
ers; now  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  they  also  did  in  like  manner 
with  their  enchantments. 


f  Da.  2:  2;  2Ti. 


that  He  will  not  put  His  Divine  im- 
press upon  any  imposture.  Moses 
was  to  give  direction  from  God  to 
Aaron,  and  Aaron  was  to  work  the 
supernatural  sign.  Aaron  was  to 
cast  down  his  rod  (of  power)  before 
Pharaoh  and  it  would  become  a  ser- 
pent. Here  the  term  is  Tannin. 
It  is  rendered  a  dragon,  as  in  Mala- 
chi.  So  the  Sept. — a  general  term 
for  the  snake.  It  may  have  been 
the  asp  or  basilisk,  which  was  the 
emblem  of  royalty  in  Egypt.  It  is 
applied  also  to  the  crocodile,  as  a 
symbol  of  Egypt.  Aaron's  rod  was 
the  same  as  Moses'  (ch.  4 :  2-4). 
Comp.  vs.  15,  17  with  19  and  20. 
This  sign  was  chosen  because  the 
art  of  snake-charming  was  so  preva- 
lent in  Egypt.  These  charmers 
boasted  that  they  could  turn  a  stick 
to  a  snake,  and  snakes  into  sticks. 
Moses  was  to  awe  them  by  perform- 
ing the  reality.  They  were  skilled 
in  making  the  snake  to  appear  stiff 
and  lifeless  as  a  stick,  and  then  they 
recovered  it  again.  Bush  thinks  it 
was  a  crocodile  (Ps.  74 :  13).  In  v. 
15  and  in  ch.  4  :  3  the  animal  is 
called  nahhash,  a  different  kind  of 
snake  or  serpent  as  better  suited  to 
the  people  of  Israel  before  whom 
the  miracle  was  first  performed. 

11.  The  contest  opens  now  be- 
tween the  gods  of  Egypt  and  the 
God  of  the  Hebrews.  Pharaoh  no  vv 
summons  the  magicians.  They  were 
not  the  adroit  and  supple  conjurers 
and  tricksters,  like  Simon  Magus 
at  Samaria,  whose  profession  was 
by  secret  arts  and  incantations  to 
do  wonders.  But  they  were  the 
wise  men,  educated  in  Divine  wis- 
dom, and  of  the  priestly  caste.     The 


question  whether  they  really 
wrought  miracles  involves  the 
question  how  far  God  may  allow  to 
Satanic  agencies  any  supernatural 
work  for  a  purpose.  The  theory 
of  Arnold  and  others,  that  a  miracle 
can  be  wrought  by  Satan,  and  that 
you  must  first  learn  whether  the 
miracle  before  you  is  wrought  in 
the  interest  of  good  or  evil,  before 
you  can  decide  what  it  attests,  is 
fallacious,  for  precisely  what  we 
want  to  know  by  the  miracle  is 
whether  the  cause  that  is  served  by 
it,  is  good  or  evil.  Paul  refers  to 
these  magicians  and  names  two  of 
them,  Jannes  and  Jambres  (2  Tim. 
3 :  8).  And  as  these  professional 
magicians  —  magi — CJiartummim — 
were  of  the  priestly  caste,  the  power 
of  their  gods  was  represented  in 
their  machinations.  And  their  de- 
feat by  the  messengers  of  Jehovah, 
was  a  defeat  of  Egypt's  gods  (ch. 
12 :  12).  They  did  in  like  manner 
with  their  enchantments — also  they 
— so  ;  means  1st  they  did  this  thing 
after  a  fashion,  with  their  enchant- 
ments, making  it  to  appear  by  their 
skilful  arts  in  like  manner — as  if  it 
had  been  done.  So  in  ch.  8 :  18 
it  is  recorded  "And  the  magicians 
did  so  with  their  enchantments  to 
bring  forth  lice,  but  they  could  not" 
12.  For  they  cast  down  every  man 
his  rod,  and  they  became  serpents. 
Bush  thinks  it  should  be  rendered 
— that  they  might  become  serpents. 
But  there  is  no  objection  to  the 
received  reading.  They  became 
serpents,  after  a  fashion — it  is  not 
said  whether  by  natural  or  preter- 
natural means,  only  that  from  the 
whole   narrative   we   infer  that  it 


CHAPTER  VII.  69 

12  For  they  cast  down  every  man  his  rod,  and  they  became 
serpents;  but  Aaron's  rod  swallowed  up  their  rods. 

13  And  he  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  that  he  hearkened  not 
unto  them ;  as  the  s  Lord  had  said. 

14  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Pharaoh's  heart  is  hard- 
ened, h  he  refuseth  *  to  let  the  people  go. 


g  Yer.  4.        h  ch.  8:  15;  10:  1,  27.        i  Je.  8:  5;  He.  12:  25. 


was  a  mere  illusion  and  sham,  ac- 
cording to  their  occult  science.  Bui 
Aaron's  rod,  etc,  This  is  the  great 
fact  that  settles  the  question  be- 
tween them.  The  Divine  power  is 
triumphant.  The  magicians'  rods 
were  rods  still,  and  not  serpents, 
and  Aaron's  had  life  to  swallow  up 
the  rods  of  the  magicians.  Pharaoh 
had  summoned  these  magicians  to 
try  their  skill  in  the  same  direction 
so  as  to  confound  these  messengers 
who  boasted  a  Divine  commission, 
and  so  as  to  show  the  gods  of  Egypt 
to  be  equal  to  those  of  the  Hebrews. 
These  magicians  were  counted  holy 
among  the  Egyptians,  and  so  the 
Wonder-working  stood  connected 
with  their  religious  faith  and  their 
system  of  idolatry.  Many,  such  as 
Augustine,  Calvin,  Delitzseh,  Heng- 
stenberg,  Trench,  etc.,  think  that 
the  magicians  in  Egypt  stood  in  re- 
lation to  a  spiritual  kingdom  as 
really  as  did  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
that  their  feats  were  not  indeed  mir- 
acles in  the  sense  of  orjfxeia  dwafiets , 
yet  they  were  of  the  style  of  regard.. 
prodigies — lying  wonders  (2  Thess. 
2  :  9)  intended  to  support  a  Panthe- 
ism, a  religion  of  nature  which  ren- 
dered homage  to  evil  spirits,  serpent- 
worship  being  a  principal  part  of  the 
system.  And  their  power  over  ser- 
pents was  that  by  which  these  Ma- 
gi principally  supported  the  dignity 
of  their  order  as  a  guild.  An  as- 
sault upon  this,  therefore,  properly 
enough,  opened  the  religious  con- 
test, And  when  Aaron's  rod  swal- 
lowed up  theirs,  the  symbol  of 
their  office  was  gone,  and  the  baton 
of  their  power  was  missing.  Phara- 
oh, however,  was  fain  to  believe  that 
their  power  was  of  the  same  sort 


with  that  of  the  Divine  messengers, 
and  so  his  heart  wras  hardend. 

13.  And  he  hardened,  etc.  This 
is  the  same  phrase  as  in  v.  22,  and 
should  be  read  the  same — "  And 
Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened — lit. 
— became  firm,  strong,  unyielding." 
The  result  was  according  as  Jeho- 
vah had  said.  The  cause  was  the 
heart-hardening  of  Pharaoh. 

§  14.  The  First  Plague.  Ch.VII: 
14-25. 

14.  Jehovah  now  makes  distinct 
announcement  to  Moses  of  the  fact 
in  regard  to  Pharaoh's  stupid  insen- 
sibility and  refusal.  The  term  used 
here  is  not  the  same  as  in  the  pre- 
vious verse,  but  it  is  the  verb  mean- 
ing to  be  heavy.  Pharaoh's  heart  is 
heavy,  insensible,  stupid.  He  vainly 
concluded  that  the  Divine  messen- 
gers were  sufficiently  matched  by 
the  magicians,  or  else  perhaps  the 
signal  defeat  of  these  latter  vexed 
him,  so  as  to  provoke  him  to  a  stern- 
er refusal.  God  does  not  interfere  to 
compel  Pharaoh's  compliance.  He 
will  work  by  means,  and  leave  the 
responsibility  with  the  creature. 
Murphy  calculates  that  this  was 
about   Jan.  20. 

The  plagues  are  ten  in  number — ■ 
and  this  is  the  number  denoting 
perfection.  The  last,  however,  was 
the  extra  and  crowning  one,  wdiich 
may  be  separated  from  the  rest  leav- 
ing nine,  which  may  be  ranged  into 
threes.  In  the  first  of  each  three 
the  warning  is  given  to  Pharaoh  in 
the  morning  (7  :  15  ;  8  :  20  ;  9  :  13). 
In  the  first  and  second  of  each  three 
the  plague  is  announced  beforehand 
(8  :  1  ;  9 :  1 ;  10  :  1).  In  the  third  not 


70 


EXODUS. 


15  Get  thee  unto  Pharaoh  in  the  morning;  lo,  he  goeth  out 
unto    the    water;    and  thou    shalt    si  and  by  the    river's  brink 
against  he  come;  and  the  rod  which  was  turned  to  a  serpent  J 
shalt  thou  take  in  thine  hand. 

16  And  thou  shalt    say  unto  him,  The  Lord  God  of  the  k 
Hebrews  hath  sent  me  unto  thee,  saying,  Let  my  people  go,  * 
that  they  may  serve  me  in  the  wilderness,  and,  behold,  hitherto 
thou  wouldest  not  hear. 

17  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  In  this  thou  shalt  know  that  I  am 
m  the  Lord:  behold,  I  will  smite  with  the  rod  that  is  in  mine 
hand  upon  the  waters  which  are  in  the  river,  and  they  shall  be 
turned  n  to  blood. 


j  Ver.  10.    k  ch.  3  :  18.    1  ch.  8  :  1,  &c.     m  Ver.  5;  ISa.  17  :  46;  IKi.  20  :  28;  2Ki.  19:  19; 
Eze.  29:  9;  30:  8;  38:  23.     n  Ps.  78:  44;  105:  29. 


(8  :  16  ;  9  :  8  ;  10  :  21).  At  the  third 
the  magicians  of  Pharaoh  acknowl- 
edge the  finger  of  God  (8 :  19).  At 
the  sixth  they  cannot  stand  before 
Moses  (9:  11).  And  at  the  ninth 
Pharaoh  refuses  to  see  the  face  of 
Moses  any  more  (10  :  28).  In  the 
first  three  Aaron  uses  the  rod.  In 
the  second  three  it  is  not  mentioned. 
In  the  last  three  Moses  uses  it, 
though  in  the  last  one  of  these  only 
his  hand  is  mentioned.  All  these 
marks  of  order  lie  on  the  face  of 
the  narrative,  and  they  point  to  a 
deeper  order  of  nature  and  of  rea- 
son out  of  which  they  spring.  See 
Murphy.  "  In  the  first  three  signs 
the  superior  power  of  the  God  of 
Israel  made  itself  sufficiently  known 
to  any  one  who  did  not  studiously 
seek  a  support  for  his  unbelief  and 
rebellion."  Hengstenberg,  "  The  con- 
test was  first  intentionally  carried 
on  in  a  sphere  in  which  the  Egyp- 
tian magicians,  as  we  certainly  know 
with  reference  to  the  first  sign,  had 
hitherto  shown  their  principal  pow- 
er. After  they  had  there  been  van- 
quished, the  scene  was  changed  to 
a  sphere  in  which  they  could  not  at 
all  further  contend,  and  the  doom 
which,  in  this  way,  came  upon  tliem 
fell  through  them  upon  their  gods." 
"  The  gradation  in  the  severity  of 
the  strokes  is  also  obvious.  In  the 
first  three  no  distinction  is  made  be- 
tween the  inhabitants  of  the  land. 


In  the  remaining  seven  the  Israel- 
ites are  shielded,  and  the  Egyptians 
are  exposed  to  the  stroke.  In  these 
seven  which  are  peculiar  to  the 
Egyptians,  the  order  of  the  work  of 
creation  is  reversed.  Three  refer 
to  the  animal  and  three  to  the  vege- 
table world — the  support  of  animal 
life.  The  last  of  these  six  is  dark- 
ness the  opposite  of  light  (the  pro- 
duct of  the  first  day)  and  the  seventh 
is  death.  The  first  three  strike  at 
the  health  and  comfort.  The  next 
three  strike  away  the  staff  of  life. 
Then  comes  death  itself — and  so  the 
destruction  is  complete." — MnrpJiy. 
15.  Lo  !  he  goeth  out,  etc. 
Doubtless  it  was  to  pay  his  daily 
homage  to  the  sacred  river,  which 
the  Egyptians  regarded  as  their  su- 
preme Deity  (ch.  2  :  5).  It  was  to 
the  land  the  source  of  almost  every 
blessing,  for  drink,  for  bathing,  for 
irrigation,  for  planting  of  the  bottom 
lands,  over  which  it  spread  in  its 
rise,  by  dropping  the  seed  in  the  soft 
soil  as  it  subsided. 

16.  Pharaoh  is  to  be  met  on  the 
bank  of  the  sacred  stream,  and  re- 
minded of  Moses'  commission  and 
of  his  refusal  hitherto.  The  Lord 
— lit.  Jehovah. 

17.  Pharaoh  is  now  notified  of 
the  awful  proof  which  Jehovah 
will  give  of  Himself.  The  rod  in 
Moses'  hand  was  that  which  had 
been  already  used  as  an  instrument 


CHAPTER  VII. 


71 


18  And  the  fish  that  is  in  the  river  shall  die,  and  the  river 
shall  stink;  and  the  Egyptians  shall  loath  to  drink  of  the  wa- 
ter of  the  river. 

19  And  the  Lord  spake  nnto  Moses,  Say  nnto  Aaron,  Take 
thy  rod,  and  stretch  out  thine  hand  ujDon  the  waters  of  Egypt, 
upon  their  streams,  upon  their  rivers,  and  upon  their  ponds,  and 
upon  all  their  pools  of  water,  that  they  may  become  blood;  and 
that  there  may  be  blood  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  both 
in  vessels  of  wood,  and  in  vessels  of  stone. 


of  Divine  power.  Now  the  effects 
of  smiting  the  river  with  it  are  no- 
tified beforehand  that  the  King 
might  see  the  intelligent  will  and 
plan  of  Jehovah  in  it  all.  It  is  sup- 
posed by  some  that  this  was  on  the 
occasion  of  a  public  religious  cere- 
mony— probably  after  harvest  at 
the  annual  rise  of  the  river  called 
the  Red  Nile,  in  June,  when  certain 
rites  were  performed  in  presence  of 
the  King  to  the  River-God  Nu  or 
Noah — and  a  wooden  statue  of  the 
River-God  was  carried  through  the 
villages  on  these  occasions.  But  it 
is  more  probable  that  the  miracle 
was  wrought  at  a  different  season — 
in  February.  The  Nile  Divinity  is 
known  in  the  Inscriptions  as  "  the 
Life-Giving  father  of  all  existen- 
ces." Blood.  It  is  remarkable  that 
when  the  Nile  rises,  the  water  is 
very  red  in  color,  as  if  from  depos- 
its of  red  earth  brought  down  by 
the  swollen  streams.  Ehrenberg 
has  found  it,  on  analysis,  owing  to 
cryptogamic  plants  and  infusoria. 
This  phenomenon  therefore  was 
now  wrought  in  a  way  to  be  mirac- 
ulous and  most  severe.  For  the  red 
water  is  most  drinkable  and  deli- 
cious to  the  people.  But  this  blood- 
red  water  becomes  now  offensive 
and  death  dealing !  This  would 
show  how  superior  Jehovah  must 
be  to  the  River -God  whom  they 
worshipped. 

19.  Aaron  was  now,  at  Moses' 
direction,  to  use  the  rod  for  these 
threatened  results.  There  was  but 
one  River  in  the  land.  But  it  had 
streams,  or  arms — branches — in  the 
Delta  where  it   runs  into   the  sea. 


Their  rivers — the  canals  by  which 
they  watered  the  fields — ponds — 
large  masses  of  standing  water 
after  the  subsidence  of  the  river — a 
marshy  lake  like  Mceris — and  all 
their  pools  of  water — either  other 
lakes  or  any  artificial  reservoirs  for 
such  as  were  distant — were  turned 
to  blood.  The  blood,  into  which 
the  water  was  thus  miraculously 
converted,  was  throughout  all  the 
land — in  wood  and  in  stone  (vessels) 
as  reservoirs  for  catching  the  over- 
flow, or  wherever  it  was  kept  for 
daily  use  of  the  people.  This  may 
also  include  the  earthen  conduits 
and  hydrants  for  public  use.  There 
were  also  vessels  of  wood  and  stone 
for  filtering  the  water.  The  phe- 
nomenon was  taken  out  of  the 
sphere  of  natural  events  by  the  no- 
tice given,  and  the  immediate  result 
following  upon  this  use  of  the  rod 
and  the  disastrous  effect  as  threat- 
ened. Some  suppose  the  blood  was 
meant  to  symbolize  the  destruction 
of  the  enemies  of  Israel,  and  to  re- 
mind Pharaoh  of  his  bloody  deeds. 
The  Nile  commonly  begins  to  rise 
about  the  end  of  June,  and  attains  to 
its  height  at  the  close  of  September. 
The  miracle  was  wholly  different 
from  the  annual  reddening  of  the 
waters,  however  it  may  have  seem- 
ed in  the  color  to  wear  the  aspect 
of  blessing,  in  the  result  it  was  full 
of  curse.  Murphy  instances  thus— 
(1)  It  occurred  at  a  different  season 
of  the  year.  (2)  The  water  was  not 
merely  reddened,  it  was  turned  into 
blood.  (3)  The  fish  died  as  was  not 
the  case  otherwise.  (4)  The  river 
became  offensive,  quite  opposite  to 


72 


EXODUS. 


20  And  Moses  and  Aaron  did  so,  as  the  Lord  commanded ; 
and  he  lifted  up  the  rod,  and  smote  °  the  waters  that  were  in 
the  river,  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh,  and  in  the  sight  of  his  ser- 
vants; and  all  the  waters  that  were  in  the  river  were  turned  to 
blood. 

21  And  the  fish  that  was  in  the  river  died;  and  the  river 
stank,  and  the  Egyptians  could  not  drink  p  of  the  water  of  the 
river;  and  there   was  blood  throughout   all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

22  And  the  magicians  of  Egypt  did  q  so  with  their  enchant- 
ments; and  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened,  neither  did  he 
hearken  unto  them  ;  as  the  Lord  had  said. 

23  And  Pharaoh  turned  and  went  into  his  house,  neither  did 
he  set  his  r  heart  to  this  also. 


o  ch.  17:  5;  Nu.  20 ; 
1:  5. 


11.    p  Ver.  18.     q  2Ti.  3:8.    r  Is.  26:  11 ;  Je.  5 :  3;  36 :  24;  Hag. 


the  case  in  the  ordinary  reddening. 
(5)  The  miracle  lasted  seven  days, 
whereas  the  common  reddening 
lasted  some  three  weeks.  No  one 
can  imagine  how  awful  this  blow 
was  in  its  disappointing  and  death- 
dealing  effects.  There  was  an  ob- 
ject in  working  within  the  sphere 
of  the  natural  phenomena,  yet  in  a 
supernatural  way,  to  show  that  God 
is  the  author  of  both  the  natural 
and  the  supernatural.  There  is  no 
intimation  here  given  of  an  overflow 
of  the  river,  as  if  it  were  anywise 
connected  with  the  annual  phenom- 
enon of  reddening.  Pharaoh  walks 
to  the  river,  brink  and  the  people 
dig  around  the  river  for  water. 
The  water  becomes  putrid,  which  is 
indicative  of  no  overflow.  Heng- 
stenberg  thinks  that  this  occurred  at 
the  time  of  the  annual  overflow  and 
reddening,  and  that  through  the 
whole  cycle  of  nine  months  God 
wrought,  in  connection  with  the  or- 
dinarily recurring  circle  of  natural 
phenomena.  Kurtz  and  others, 
however,  reckoning  from  what  is 
known  of  the  dates,  infer  that  not 
more  than  nine  weeks  were  occupied 
in  the  whole  list  of  plagues.  Vol. 
II,  p.  269.     See  ch.  9  :  13.     Note. 

22-23.  The  m  ag  ic  in  n  s—  ch  a  rt  u  m  - 
ram— that  is,  the  sacred  scribes. 
Two  of  these  are  named  in  the  New 
Testament,  Jannes  and  Jamb  res — 


2  Tim.  3  : 8.  These  names  mean 
scribes  of  divers  sorts.  They  were 
masters  of  occult  arts.  When  the 
kingdom  of  light  is  to  be  advanced, 
the  kingdom  of  darkness  always  ral- 
lies its  forces  to  resist  it.  In  the  11th 
verse  other  terms  are  used  meaning 
wise  men — magi.  Observe,  they  did 
so,  not  the  very  thing,  but  like  it, 
with  their  enchantments.  The  magi- 
cians strove  to  imitate  this  wonder- 
working so  as  to  sustain  their  idol- 
atrous system,  and  not  succumb  to 
the  Hebrew  God  Jehovah.  There 
was  little  pure  water  to  practise  up- 
on ;  but  enough  for  the  experiment, 
it  would  seem,  and  it  was  the  Nile 
water,  and  not  that  in  wells,  that 
was  spoiled  ;  and,  so  far,  the  power 
which  they  were  allowed  to  wield 
was  in  punishment,  for  it  only  added 
to  the  plague  by  spoiling  more  wa- 
ter, though  it  wras  a  sham  of  theirs. 
Easily  enough  some  coloring  matter, 
or  blood  itself,  might  convert  a  small 
portion  into  the  semblance  of  blood, 
like  the  liquefaction  of  St.  Januari- 
us'  blood  by  the  monks  at  Naples. 
Why  did  not  they  convert  the  bloody 
water  into  a  pure,  refreshing  drink, 
such  as  the  people  needed  ?  It  was 
when  the  magicians  did  so  icith  their 
enchantments  that  Pharaoh's  heart 
was  hardened.  lie  turned  and  icent 
into  his  house,  chagrined,  but  un- 
yielding.    If  he  had  been  well  dis- 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


73 


24  And  all  the  Egyptians  digged  round  about  the  river  for 
water  to  drink;  for  they  could  not  drink  of  the  water  of  the 
river. 

25  And  seven  days  were  fulfilled,  after  that  the  Lord  had 
smitten  the  river. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

AND  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  Go  unto  Pharaoh,  and  say 
unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let  my  people  go,  that  they 
may  serve  me. 


posed  these  poor  cheats  would  have 
been  detected.  To  this  also.  Nei- 
ther did  he  set  his  heart  even  to  this 
— to  heed  this,  or  be  moved  by  this 
sign — though  so  much  more  fear- 
ful and  damaging  than  the  previous 
sign. 

24.  Pharaoh  worshipped  nature, 
in  forms  of  base  idolatry  to  natural 
laws.  What  desperate  resorts  men 
will  make  to  relieve  themselves,  if 
possible,  from  God.'s  judgments,  ra- 
ther than  believe,  or  bow  to  the 
stroke.  Digged  round  about,  etc., 
so  as  to  get  some  water  from  springs, 
or  through  the  filtering  of  the  sand. 

25.  The  plague  lasted  a  whole 
week.  Keil  and  Delitzsch  think  it 
probable  that  this  first  plague  oc- 
curred in  September  or  October,  and 
that  the  plague  of  hail,  the  seventh 
plague,  was  in  February. 

Stanley  says  :  "  It  is  impossible, 
a?  we  read  the  description  of  the 
plagues,  not  to  feel  how  much  of 
force  is  added  to  it  by  a  knowledge 
of  the  peculiar  customs  and  charac- 
ter of  the  country  in  which  they  oc- 
curred. It  is  not  an  ordinary  river 
that  is  turned  into  blood.  It  is  the 
sacred,  beneficent,  solitary  Nile, 
the  very  life  of  the  State  and  of  the 
people,  in  its  streams  and  canals, 
and  tanks,  and  vessels  of  wood  and 
vessels  of  stone,  then,  as  now,  used 
for  the  filtration  of  the  water  from 
the  sediment  of  the  river  bed.  It  is 
not  an  ordinary  nation  that  is  struck 
by  the  mass  of  putrefying  vermin 
lying  in  heaps  in  the  houses,  the 
villages,  and  the  fields,  or  multiply- 
ing out  of  the  dust  of  the  desert 


sands  on  each  side  of  the  Nile  val- 
ley .     It  is  the  cleanliest  of  all  the 
ancient   nations,    clothed    in   white 
linen,  anticipating   in  their  fastidi- 
ous delicacy  and  ceremonial  purity 
the  habits  of  modern  and  northern 
Europe.    It  is  not  the  ordinary  cattle 
that  died  in  the  field,  or  ordinary 
fish  that  died  in  the  river,  or  ordi- 
nary reptiles  that  were  overcome  by 
the  rod  of  Aaron.     It  is  the  sacred 
goat  of  Mendes—  the  ram  of  Ammon 
—the  calf  of  Heliopolis— the  Bull 
Apis— the  crocodile  of  Ombos— the 
carp  of  Latopolis.     It  is  not  an  ordi- 
nary land  of  which  the  flax  and  the 
barley,  and  every  green  thing  in  the 
trees,  and  every  herb  of   the  field 
are  smitten  by  the  two  great  calam- 
ities of  storm  and  locusts.     It  is  the 
garden  of  the  ancient  Eastern  world 
— the  long  line  of  green  meadow  and 
cornfield,  and   groves   of   palm  and 
sycamore  and  fig-tree,  from  the  Cat- 
aracts to  the  Delta  ;  doubly  refresh- 
ing from  the  desert  which  it  inter- 
sects, doubly  marvellous  from  the 
river   whence   it   springs.     If  these 
signs   were    calamities     anywhere, 
they  were  truly  '  signs  and  wonders' 
— speaking  signs  and  oracular  won- 
ders— in  such  a  land  as  '  the  land  of 
Ham.'  "—Hist,  of  Jewish  Gh.,  p.  131. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

§  15.  The  Second  Plague— Frogs. 
Ch.  VIII :  1-15. 

l-o.  Moses  is  bidden  to  repeat 
his  formal  demand  upon  Pharaoh 
for  the  release  of  His  people  in  or- 


74 


EXODUS. 


2  And  if  thou  refuse  to  let  them  go,  behold,  I  will  smite  all 
thy  borders  with  frogs  : 

3  And  the  river  shall  bring  forth  frogs  abundantly,  which 
shall  go  up  and  come  into  thine  house,  and  into  thy  bed-cham- 
ber, and  upon  thy  bed,  and  into  the  house  of  thy  servants,  and 
upon  thy  people,  and  into  thine  ovens,  and  into  thy  kneading- 
troughs ; 

4  And  the  frogs  shall  come  up,  both  on  thee  and  upon  thy 
people,  and  upon  all  thy  servants. 

5  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  Say  unto  Aaron,  Stretch 
forth  thine  hand  with  thy  rod  over  the  streams,  over  the  rivers, 
and  over  the  ponds,  and  cause  frogs  to  come  up  upon  the  land 
of  Egypt. 

6  And  Aaron  stretched  out  his  hand  over  the  waters  of 
Egypt  :  and  the  frogs  a  came  up,  and  covered  the  land  of  Egypt. 

7  And  the  magicians  did  so  with  their  enchantments,  and 
brought  up  frogs  upon  the  land  of  Egypt. 

a  Ps.  78:  45;  105:  30. 


der  to  a  special  religious  service. 
He  is  moreover  fairly  notified  what 
will  be  the  penalty  of  refusal. 
This  was  announced  to  the  King  in 
his  Palace,  not  at  the  Eiver  as  be- 
fore. The  Plague  now  threatened 
is  that  of  Frogs.  These  were  fa- 
miliar as  belonging  to  the  river 
Nile.  But  the  miracle  consisted  in 
their  immense  and  sudden  multi- 
plication, so  as  to  swarm  from  the 
river  at  the  lifting  of  the  rod  in  Aa- 
ron's hand — all  thy  borders — the 
whole  land — behold  1  am  smiting — 
just  ready  to  smite, — as  a  penal 
infliction — with  these  frogs.  And 
the  river  shall  bring  forth  frogs  abun- 
dantly— shall  swarm  with  frogs. 
(See  Gen.  1  :  20,  where  the  verb 
used  is  the  same.)  They  were  to 
come  up  into  the  King's  bed-cham- 
ber, and  upon  his  bed.  The  chambers 
were  often  on  the  ground-floor,  and 
the  bed  was  a  mat  on  the  floo r,  or  a 
divan  raised  a  short  distance  above 
it.  The  Ovens  were  either  a  hole 
dug  in  the  ground,  and  plastered 
round  with  mortar,  or,  an  earthen 
pot,  with  a  hole  in  the  bottom  for 
letting  out  the  ashes.  The  fire  is 
placed  inside,  and  the  dough  laid  on 
the  outer  surface,  or  on  the  inner 


surface  after  the  fire  was  removed. 
Thus  they  infested  all  quarters,  in- 
terfering with  all  domestic  and  per- 
sonal comfort.  These  leaping, 
loathsome  creatures  everywhere. 
Yet  the  frog  was  one  of  the  sacred 
animals  of  the  Egyptians,  and  thus 
their  idolatry  was  punished.  Knead- 
ing troughs.  These  were  bowls  or 
troughs  of  wood  or  wicker-work. 
And  according  to  the  size  they  used 
the  hands  or  the  feet  in  working 
the  dough.  But  the  frogs  even 
found  their  way  hither,  where  they 
wished  to  put  the  flour  for  their 
bread. 

4.  The  Plague  should  spare 
none  from  highest  to  lowest. 

5,  6.  What  answer,  if  any,  Pha- 
raoh made  to  this  demand  is  not 
recorded.  He  gave  no  satisfaction 
and  the  Plague  was  brought  upon 
him  as  was  threatened.  The  mira- 
cle consisted  in  their  swarming  so 
abundantly  without  any  natural 
cause,  but  by  the  supernatural  pow- 
er represented  by  the  uplifted  rod, 
and  in  its  coming  to  pass  promptly  in 
obedience  to  the  signal,  as  could  be 
by  1  Lvine  power  only. 

7.  The  magicians  did  so  with 
their   enchantments— imitating  the 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


75 


8  Then  Pharaoh  called  for  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  said,  bIn- 
treat  the  Loud,  that  he  may  take  away  the  frogs  from  me,  and 
from  my  people  ;  and  I  will  let  the  people  go,  that  they  may 
do  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord. 

9  And  Moses  said  unto  Pharaoh,  Glory  over  me  :  when  shall 
I  entreat  for  thee,  and  for  thy  servants,  and  for  thy  people,  to 
destroy  the  frogs  from  thee  and  thy  houses,  that  they  may  re- 
main in  the  river  only  ? 

10  And  he  said,  To-morrow.  And  he  said,  Be  it  according 
to  thy  word  ;  that  thou  mayest  know  that  c  there  is  none  like 
unto  the  Lord  our  God. 

11  And  the  frogs  shall  depart  from  thee,  and  from  thy 
houses,  and  from  thy  servants,  and  from  thy  people  ;  they  shall 
remain  in  the  river  only. 

12  And  Moses  and  Aaron  went  out  from  Pharaoh  :  and  Mo- 
ses d  cried  unto  the  Lord  because  of  the  frogs  which  he  had 
brought  against  Pharaoh. 

13  And  the  Lord  did  e  according  to  the  word  of  Moses  \ 
and  the  frogs  died  out  of  the  houses,  out  of  the  villages,  and 
out  of  the  fields. 

1-4  And  they  gathered  them  together  upon  heaps  ;  and  the 
land  stank. 


b  ch.  9:  28;  10:  IT;  Nu.  21: 
5:  16,18.        e  De.  34:  10-12. 


;;  IKi.  13:  6;  Ac.  8:  24.       c  De.  32:  31;  33:  26.    d  Ja. 


miracle — and  brought  up  frogs  upon 
the  land  of  Egypt.  As  the  creatures 
were  swarming  already  they  ma- 
nipulated so  as  to  seem  to  bring 
them  up  themselves — or  perhaps 
even  succeeded,  in  bringing  them  up 
from  the  river  bed  to  particular  spots. 
They  could  only  aggravate  the 
curse — not  mitigate  it.  They  could 
not  remove  the  Plague. 

8.  Pharaoh  suffers  so  under  this 
terrible  scourge  that  he  begs  Moses 
and  Aaron  to  entreat  Jehovah  for 
his  relief,  and  promises  on  this  con- 
dition to  grant  the  people's  release. 
He  thus  admits  that  not  the  magi- 
cians, but  Jehovah,  had  it  in  con- 
trol. 

9.  Glory  over  me.  Either  — Have 
tlie  honor  over  me  (of  saying)  when 
1  shall  entreat  for  thee — or,  you  are 
welcome  to  my  services  as  intercessor 
for  you.  The -sense  is,  Command 
me  as  to  the  time — Name  your  own 
time.    It   would  seem  that  Moses 


was  most  ready  to  meet  Pharaoh 
with  terms  at  the  first  moment  of 
his  yielding.  The  frogs  were  to  be 
remanded  to  their  natural  place,  in 
the  river,  where  they  would  be 
harmless. 

10.  The  day  was  fixed — and  it 
was  the  nearest  day — and  Moses 
was  ready  to  make  this  a  proof  to 
Pharaoh  of  God's  a]  mightiness 
against  all  the  gods  of  the  heathen. 

11-14.  It  was  done  according  to 
the  time  set  by  Pharaoh.  The  frog 
was  held  sacred  and  regarded  with 
superstitious  reverence  as  the  sym- 
bol of  human  life  in  embryo.  It  is 
seen  in  the  hieroglyphics  sitting  on 
a  ring,  and  from  its  back  rises  a 
palm-branch,  the  symbol  of  the 
month,  or  of  time.  Phtah  the 
creative  or  formative  principle  ap- 
pears under  the  form  of  a  god  with 
a  frog's  head.  Pharaoh  now  must 
see  that  this  reptile  is  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  god  of  Moses,  to  kill  or 


76 


EXODUS. 


15  But  when  Pharaoh  saw  that  there  was  respite,  he  f  har- 
dened his  heart,  and  hearkened  not  unto  them  :  as  the  Lord 
had  said,  s 

16  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Say  unto  Aaron,  Stretch 
out  thy  rod,  and  smite  the  dust  of  the  land,  that  it  may  become 
lice  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

17  And  they  did  so  :  for  Aaron  stretched  out  his  hand  with 
his  rod,  and  smote  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  it  became  Mice  in 
man  and  in  beast  ;  all  the  dust  of  the  land  became  lice  through- 
out all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

18  And  the  magicians  did  so  with  their  enchantments  to 
bring  forth  lice,  but  they  could  not :  *  so  there  were  lice  upon 
man,  and  upon  beast. 


f  Ec.  8:  11. 


di. 


4.    h  Ps.  105:  31.  i  Ge.  41:  8;  Is.  19:  12;  47:  12;  Da.  2:  10. 


to  make  alive.  Upon  heaps.  The 
word  is  from  the  term  meaning 
omer,  or  bushel  measure — by  bush- 
els. 

15.  Pharaoh's  perverseness  is  here 
noted.  When  he  saw  "  that  there 
was  breathing-time — relief  from  an 
overpowering  pressure — literally,  as 
soon  as  he  got  air,"  he  hardened  his 
heart — made  his  heart  heavy,  so 
that  he  did  not  hearken  to  Moses 
and  Aaron.  And  this  was  as  the 
Lord  had  said,  for  God  knew  his 
heart. 


§  16.   The  Third  Plague- 
Ch.  VIII  :  16-19. 


-Lice. 


16.  The  dust  of  the  landw&s  now 
to  be  smitten  so  that  it  should 
become  lice.  Some  make  it  gnats. 
The  term  does  not  mean  common 
lice,  but  a  tiny  insect  of  this  species, 
stinging  painfully,  and  swarming  so 
as  to  infest  the  entire  population, 
as  if  the  dust  of  the  streets  were 
all  turned  into  these.  As  in  the 
previous  plagues,  this  was  not  an 
entirely  new  thing  in  the  country. 
God  used  natural  agencies,  but 
wrought  supernaturally  with  them. 
The  miracle  consisted,  not  in  creat- 
ing a  new  insect,  but  in  causing 
them  to  multiply  so  immensely  at 
the  lifting  of  Aaron's  rod,  by  His 
command.  These  tiny  creatures, 
fine  as  the  dust,  find  their  way  into 


the  eyes,  ears  and  nostrils,  and  poi- 
son by  their  bite,  and  become  a 
torment.  We  can  testify  from  ex- 
perience that  vermin  yet  abound 
in  Egypt,  and  are  a  serious  annoy- 
ance to  travellers,  both  inside  the 
dwelling  and  in  the  tents  pitched 
in  the  field.  On  the  way  we  bought 
a  contrivance  to  protect  our  sleep 
against  such  molestation.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  sheet  sewed  up,  excepting 
an  opening  large  enough  to  admit 
the  person  through  a  bag  of  mos- 
quito netting,  which,  when  you  are 
within,  is  fastened  above  the  head, 
to  the  top  of  the  tent,  and  gives  fair 
breathing  space.  This  served  as 
an  admirable  protection  from  such 
vermin  ;  but  some  of  our  company 
preferred  risking  the  vermin  to 
being  sewed  up,  in  that  singular 
manner,  for  sleep.  Herodotus  tells 
us  that  the  priests  of  Egypt  shave 
their  whole  body  that  no  lice  or 
other  impure  thing  may  adhere  to 
them  in  the  service  of  the  gods. 

18.  The  magicians  did  so  with 
their  enchantments — to  bring  forth 
lice — they  smote  the  dust  for  the 
purpose,  but  they  could  not.  Their 
skill  was  utterly  baffled  ;  they  could 
not  in  any  instance  bring  lice  out  of 
the  dust,  after  this  fashion.  They 
are  forced  to  confess  themselves 
overmatched,  and  to  exclaim,  "T his 
is  the  finger  of  God."  This,  how- 
ever, must  not  be  understood  as  any 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


77 


19  Then  the  magicians  said  unto  Pharaoh,  This  is  the  J  fin- 
ger of  God  :  and  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened,  and  he  heark- 
ened not  unto  them  ;  as  the  Lord  had  said. 

20  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Rise  up  early  in  the 
morning,  and  stand  before  Pharaoh  ;  lo,  he  cometh  forth  to  the 
water ;  and  say  unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Loed,  Let  my  people 
go,  that  they  may  serve  me  : 

21  Else,  if  thou  wilt  not  let  my  people  go,  behold,  I  will 
send  swarms  of  flies  upon  thee,  and  upon  thy  servants,  and  upon 
thy  people,  and  into  thy  houses  ;  and  the  houses  of  the  Egyp- 
tians shall  be  full  of  swarms  of  flies,  and  also  the  ground  where- 
on they  are. 

22  And  I  will  sever k  in  that  day  the  land  of  Goshen,  in 

j  ISa.  6:3,9;  Ps.  8:  3;  Mat.  12:28;  Lu.  11:  20.  kch.  9:  4,  &c;  10:  23;  11:  6,7;  12:13. 


devout  acknowledgment  of  the  God 
of  the  Hebrews  {Jehovah),  but  only 
a  confession  that  it  was  supernatu- 
ral, and  not  the  work  of  Moses  and 
Aaron.  So  Bochart.  Kurtz  thinks 
they  meant  to  ascribe  it  to  their 
own  divinities — all  in  one  Elohim — 
and  that  they  did  not  go  beyond 
their  own  idolatrous  system  in  this 
confession.  This  would  imply,  if 
so,  that  they  regarded  their  defeat 
as  an  expression  of  their  own  god 
in  favor  of  the  demand  for  Israel's 
release.  The  use  of  the  phrase  as 
to  the  magicians'  work  shows  that 
their  "  doing  so  with  their  enchant- 
ments "  does  not  mean  that  they 
wrought  actually  miracles,  only  that 
they  strove  to  imitate  Moses  and 
Aaron. 

Observe. — The  narrative  here 
throughout  shows  that  it  could  have 
been  written  only  by  one  who,  like 
Moses,  had  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  Egyptian  affairs. 

§  17.  Second  Trio  of  Plagues. 
The  Fourth  Plague— Flies. 
Ch.  VIII :  20-32. 

In  this  second  trio  of  plagues 
God  works  without  the  symbolic 
rod  of  His  servants,  and  thus  He 
would  show  that  He  is  not  tied  to 
this  or  that  method.  Henceforth, 
also,  a  distinction  is  openly  put 
between  the  Israelites  and  the  Egyp- 


tians, to  show  that  God  will  honor 
and  defend  his  own  covenant  people, 
and  that  the  plagues  issued  from  his 
hand. 

20,  21.  This  fourth  plague  is  no- 
tified to  Pharaoh  at  the  river  bank, 
as  at  first,  and  in  the  morning.  The 
formal  demand  is  again  made,  ac- 
companied with  this  threatening. 
The  term  means  a  mingling  or  mix- 
ture, as  if  it  were  a  collection  or 
swarm  of  noxious  insects.  But  it 
means  a  species  of  fly — gadfly  or 
dogfly.  Such  flies  are  commonly 
one  of  the  severest  pests  of  Egypt, 
some  of  them  very  large  and  of 
grievous  bite,  alighting  everywhere 
on  the  exposed  flesh,  and  frequently 
infesting  the  moist  parts  of  the  eye- 
lids and  nostrils.  They  were  to  at- 
tack the  people,  and  fill  the  houses, 
and  cover  the  ground.  No  one  can 
conceive  how  terrible  such  a  scourge 
would  be.  The  miracle  consisted  in 
their  immense  multiplication  and 
terrible  execution  —  at  the  divine 
bidding. 

22.  I  will  sever,  in  that  day.  Now, 
a  new  token  was  to  be  given  of 
Jehovah's  design  in  the  matter,  by 
the  exemption  of  His  own  people 
from  the  plague.  The  land  of 
Goshen  should  be  spared  from  the 
plague.  I  will  distinguish  in  a  mi- 
raculous manner,  in  that  day,  etc. 
And  this  should  be  to  them  a  mani- 
fest token  of  Jehovah's  hand  in  the 


78 


EXODUS. 


which  my  people  dwell,  that  no  swarms  of  flies  shall  be  there  ; 
to  the  end  thou  ma  vest  know  that  I  gu>i  the  Loud  in  the  midst 
of  the  earth. 

23  And  I  will  put  a  division  between  my  people  and  thy 
people :  to-morrow  shall  this  sign  be. 

24  And  the  Lord  did  so  :  and  there  came  a  grievous  swarm 
of  flies  into  the  house  of  Pharaoh,  and  into  his  servants'  houses,* 
and  into  all  the  land  of  Egypt  ;  the  land  was  corrupted  by 
reason  of  the  swarm  of  flies. 

25  And  Pharaoh  called  for  Moses  and  for  Aaron,  and  said, 
Go  ye,  sacrifice  to  your  God  in  the  land. 

26  And  Moses  said,  It  is  not  meet  so  to  do  ;  for  we  shall 
sacrifice  the  abomination  "■  of  the  Egyptians  to  the  Lord  our 
God  :  lo,  shall  we  sacrifice  the  abomination  of  the  Egyptians 
before  their  eyes,  and  will  they  not  stone  us  ? 

27  We  will  go m three  days'  journey  into  the  wilderness, 
and  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  our  God,  as  he  shall?  command  us. 

28  And  Pharaoh  said,  I  will  let  you  go,  that  ye  may  sacri- 


1    Ge.  43:  32;  46:  34;  De.  7:  25;  12:  31;  IKi.  11:  5-7;  2Ki.  23:  13.   m  ch.  3:  18. 
34:  11;  he.  10:  1;  Matt.  23:  20. 


n  ch. 


midst  of  the  earth,  including  the  land 
of  Egypt. 

23.  And  I  will  put  a  division  — 
lit.  a  deliverance.  He  would  thus 
show  (1)  His  will  and  power  to  de- 
liver His  own  people,  and  (2)  that 
He  possessed  unlimited  sway  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  as  elsewhere.  Thus 
He  would  make  himself  known  as 
Jehovah.  The  day  was  set.  God 
can  say  to-morrow  for  judgment,  to 
give  time  for  repentance.  For  grace 
he  says  to-day. 

24.  The  plague  was  brought  on 
directly  by  God  without  the  rod  of 
His  servants.  The  land  was  cor- 
rupted— lit.  destroyed,  devoured,  (Ps 
78  :  45)  by  reason  of  the  swarming 
insects,  poisoning  the  blood,  disfig' 
uring  and  tormenting  the  people, 
and  destroying  vegetation  also.  The 
Egyptians  worshipped  the  fly-beetle, 
etc. 

25.  26.  Pharaoh  is  now  ready  to 
propose  a  compromise  ;  he  is  willing 
that  they  shall  sacrifice  to  their  God 
in  the  land  of  Egypt.  Moses  declines 
this  offer.  "It  is  not  meet  {appointed) 
so  to  do  ;  for  we  shall  sacrifice  the 
abominations  of  the  Egyptians.    Not 


that  they  would  sacrifice  animals 
regarded  as  sacred  by  the  Egyptians 
— for  the  word  would  not  be  applied 
to  the  sacred  animals — but  (1)  That 
they  would  sacrifice  to  Jehovah, 
their  God,  as  they  were  bidden  to 
do.  (2)  Because  their  sacrificing  in 
the  land  would  be  an  abomination 
to  the  Egyptians.  (3)  Because  they 
would  not  observe  the  minute  ritual 
ordinances  of  the  Egyptians,  as  to 
omens  and  regulations  ;  and  hence 
th-ey  would  be  held  as  insulting 
their  religion.  Doing  thus  before 
their  eyes,  will  they  not  stone  us  t 

27.  The  demand  was  pressed, 
according  to  the  first  formal  appli- 
cation. We  will  go  three  days'  jour- 
ney into  the  wilderness,  and  sacrifice 
to  Jehovah,  our  God,  according  as 
He  shall  command  vs.  In  this  last 
clause  the  manner  and  extent  of  the 
service  was  left  open  for  the  Divine 
command,  and  referred  for  the  fu- 
ture to  the  Divine  direction — to  go 
further  if  so  commanded. 

28.  Pharaoh  now  comes  to  terms 
reluctantly,  and  with  a  caution  as 
to  the  distance — only  ye  shall  not  go 
very  far  away.    He  was  jealous  of 


CHAPTER  IX. 


79 


fice  to  the  Lord   your  God  in  the  wilderness  ;  only  ye  shall 
not  go  very  far  away  :  °  entreat  for  me. 

29  And  Moses  said,  Behold,  I  go  out  from  thee,  and  I  will 
entreat  the  Lord  that  the  swarms  of  flies  may  depart  from  Pha- 
raoh, from  his  servants,  and  from  his  people,  to-morrow  :  but 
let  not  Pharaoh  deal  p  deceitfully  any  more  in  not  letting  the 
people  go  to  sacrifice  to  the  Lord. 

30  And  Moses  went  out  from  Pharaoh,  and  entreated  the 
Lord. 

31  And  the  Lord  did  according  to  the  word  of  Moses  ;  and 
he  removed  the  swarms  of  flies  from  Pharaoh,  from  his  servants, 
and  from  his  people  :  there  remained  not  one. 

32  And  Pharaoh  <i  hardened  his  heart  at  this  time  also,  nei- 
ther would  he  let  the  people  go. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THEN  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Go  in  unto  Pharaoh,  and 
tell  him,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews,  Let  my 
people  go,  that  they  may  serve  me. 


V.  8;  ch.  9:  28;  IK.  13:  6.    p  Ps.  78:  34-37;  Je.  42: 


q  V.  15:  ch.  4:  21;  Ro.  2: 


his  authority,  and  suspicious  of 
them,  as  he  was  anxious  not  to  lose 
their  bond-service.  Pharaoh  pleaded 
for  release  from  the  bondage  of  the 
plague,  as  Moses  pleaded  for  release 
of  his  people  from  Pharaoh's  bond- 
age. So  the  world  pleads  for  con- 
formity of  the  church,  and  against 
entire  separation.  The  border  peo- 
ple who  do  not  go  very  far  away  are 
still  in  bondage.— 2  Peter  2  :  20,  21. 
29.  Moses  assents — appoints  to- 
morrow for  the  intercession  with 
Jehovah  for  Pharaoh's  relief — and 
adds  a  caution  to  Pharaoh  against 
breaking  faith  again  as  he  had 
already  done. 

30.  Moses'  plea  was  so  efficacious 
that  the  immense  swarms  were  gone 
— there  remained  not  one  to  molest. 
"Whether  the  insect  was  a  large  fly 
of  poisonous  sting,  or  a  beetle  or  a 
cockroach,  as  Dr.  Kirby  (Bridgewa- 
ter  Treatise)  suggests,  the  plague 
was  fearful  ;  and  as  this  species 
of  insects  was  worshipped  by  the 
Egyptians,  and  the  scarabeus  is  a 
venerated  symbol  among  them  rep- 


resenting the  sun,  the  miracle,  as 
before,  struck  at  the  system  of  idol- 
atrous worship,  and  put  the  gods  of 
Egypt  to  shame. 

32.  The  record  is  made  again 
against  Pharaoh  that  he  hardened 
his  heart  at  this  time  also,  neither 
icould  he  let  the  people  go,  adding 
every  time  falsity  in  the  very  face 
of  Jehovah,  so  soon  as  the  affliction 
was  removed  at  his  promise  and 
prayer.  Broken  vows,  in  defiance 
of  God,  make  up  the  history  of 
heart-hardening  ;  and  the  narrative 
shows  the  processes  of  mental  and 
moral  operation  whereby  the  ca- 
reer of  such  an  one  waxes  worse 
and  worse,  deceiving  and  being- 
deceived. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

§  18.  The  Fifth  Plague— Rinder- 
pest.    Ch.  IX :  1-7. 

1-7.  The  threatening  in  this  case 
was  of  a  rinderpest  or  cattle  disease. 


80 


EXODUS, 


2  For  if  thou  refuse  to  let  them  go,  and  wilt  hold  them  still, 

3  Behold,  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  upon  thy  cattle  which  is 
in  the  field,  upon  the  horses,  upon  the  asses,  upon  the  camels, 
upon  the  oxen,  and  upon  the  sheep  :  there  shall' be  a  very  griev- 
ous murrain. 

4  And  the  Loed  shall  sever  between  the  cattle  of  Israel  and 
the  cattle  of  Egypt  :  and  there  shall  nothing  die  of  all  that  is 
the  children's  of  Israel. 

5  And  the  Lord  appointed  a  set  time,  saying,  To-morrow 
the  Lord  shall  do  this  thing  in  the  land. 

6  And  the  Lord  did  that  thing  on  the  morrow,  and  a  all 
the  cattle  of  Egypt  died  ;  but  of  the  cattle  of  the  children  of 
Israel  died  not  one. 

7  And  Pharaoh  sent,  and,  behold,  there  was  not  one  of  the 
cattle  of  the  Israelites  dead.  And  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  was 
hardened,  and  he  did  not  let  the  people  go. 


a  Ps.  78:  50. 


They  had  reason  to  know  something 
of  this  calamity,  as  it  was  more  or 
less  of  annual  occurrence  at  the 
subsidence  of  the  Nile  waters.  But 
so  they  could  understand  it,  and 
would  dread  it.  And  here  it  is 
threatened,  at  the  hand  of  Jehovah, 
as  a  direct  infliction.  In  1782,  and 
more  recently  in  1842,  '63  and  '66, 
nearly  all  of  the  herds  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  cattle  disease.  How 
serious  a  trouble  this  is  we  can 
judge  somewhat  from  the  simi- 
lar calamity  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica. Beasts  of  burden,  as  well  as 
all  domestic  animals,  were  smitten 
with  the  pest.  The  horses  and 
camels  in  the  desert  were  reached 
by  it.— Jer.  12  :  4. 

2.  Wilt  hold  them  still — 
strengthenest,  or,  holdest  fast  upon 
them — obstinately  persisting  in  keep- 
ing them  oy  force. 

3.  The  hand  of  the  Lord  {Jeho- 
vah). Not  by  the  rod  of  Aaron — 
making  it  thus  more  a  direct  visita- 
tion of  Jehovah.  A  very  grievous 
murrain.  Sept.  —  A  death  vehe- 
mently great.  The  term  in  general 
means  pestilence  or  epidemic  dis- 
ease, and  iL eludes  the  typhus  and 
epizooty  or  catarrhal  distemper. 
And  as  something  of  the  kind  was 


known  in  Egypt,  the  threatening 
would  be  sufficiently  understood  to 
be  dreaded.  And  the  miracle  con- 
sisted in  its  coming  as  foretold,  and 
at  a  set  time,  and  in  greatly  in- 
creased severity,  and  in  its  being 
confined  for  a  purpose  to  the  Egyp- 
tian cattle,  as  stated  in  v.  4. 

5.  A  set  time — appointed  and 
named — to-morrow — so  as  to  give 
opportunity  to  avoid  it  by  their 
compliance,  and  so  as  to  prove  the 
divine  power  by  the  occurrence  at 
the  time  proposed. 

6.  All  the  cattle.  The  destruction 
spared  no  sort  mentioned  (v.  3.)  nor 
any  district  of  the  Egyptians ;  yet 
some  were  left.  See  v.  19.  The  dis- 
tinction between  Israel  and  Egypt 
was  most  marked, and  could  not  fail 
to  prove  the  Divine  intervention. 

7.  Pharaoh's  attention  was  di- 
rected to  the  astonishing  difference, 
as  had  been  threatened.  And  yet 
there  was  no  good  result.  Whether 
he  persuaded  himself  that  it  was  all 
accident  or  fatality  or  mere  natural 
law,  Ave  do  not  need  to  know.  Tf  Not 
one.  That  is,  not  one  of  those  named 
as  in  the  field  (v.  3).  Some  of  the 
Egyptian  cattle  were  in  the  stalls, 
and  not  in  the  field.  (See  Wilkin- 
son's Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  1,  p.  96.) 


CHAPTER  IX. 


81 


8  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses  and  unto  Aaron,  Take  to 
you  handfuls  of  ashes  of  the  furnace,  and  let  Moses  sprinkle  it 
toward  the  heaven  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh. 

9  And  it  shall  become  small  dust  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt, 
and  shall  be  a  boil  b  breaking  forth  with  blains  upon  man  and 
upon  beast,  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

10  And  they  took  ashes  of  the  furnace,  and  stood  before 
Pharaoh  ;  and  Moses  sprinkled  it  up  toward  heaven  :  and  it 
became  a  boil  breaking  forth  with  blains  upon  man  and  upon 
beast. 

11  And  the  magicians  could  not  c  stand  before  Moses  be- 
cause of  the  boils ;  for  the  boil  was  upon  the  magicians,  and 
upon  all  the  Egyptians. 


b  De.  28:  27;  Job  2:  7;  Re.  16:  2. 


47:  12,14. 


And  hence  some  cattle  were  not  vic- 
tims to  the  pest  (v.  19).  Pharaoh's 
heart  icas  hardened,  instead  of  melt- 
ed and  subdued.  "  The  greatness  of 
man's  corruption  is  seen  in  the 
fact  that  he  will  not  desist  from  sin. 
The  greatness  of  God  is  seen  in  the 
fact  that  the  man  is  not  able  to  de- 
sist from  that  form  of  sin  in  which 
it  is  madness  to  persevere." — Heng. 
King,  of  God,  vol.  1,  p.  271.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  this  plague  had 
a  special  significance  and  design 
because  the  Egyptians  worshipped 
the  leading  agricultural  and  domes- 
tic animals,  the  ox,  the  cow  and  the 
ram,  and  so  the  plague  was  aimed 
at  their  false  religion  and  their 
idolatry. 

§  19.    The  Sixth  Plague — Boils 
and  Blains.     Ch.  IX  :  8-12. 

8-12.  TJie  sixth  plague  —  boils. 
Yet  another  blow  is  struck  at  the 
proud  and  insolent  king.  This  is 
not  forewarned,  but  is  visited  with- 
out formal  notice.  These  signs 
are  at  the  same  time  punishments 
of  unbelief  and  obduracy.  He  who 
will  not  turn  is  led  with  open  eyes 
towards  the  abyss  of  destruction. 
Tf  Ashes  of  the  furnace — a  brick-kiln 
— or  a  furnace  for  smelting  metals. 
The  Israelites  had  been  laborers  at 
these  furnaces,  in  their  oppressive 
task-work  as  builders  of  tombs  and 


temples  ;  and  there  was  a  meaning 
in  making  the  ashes  from  these  fur- 
naces to  become  a  source  of  suffering 
in  the  shape  of  boils  or  ulcers  break- 
ing out  upon  the  bodies  of  their 
masters.  Some  suppose  the  ashes 
referred  to  an  old  Egyptian  rite  of 
human  sacrifices  in  which  the  ashes 
were  scattered  abroad,  as  a  charm 
for  the  protection  of  all  upon  whom 
they  fell  (see  Plutarch),  and  that 
perhaps  it  was  while  driven  to  this 
human  sacrifice,  and  while  the 
priests  were  performing  this  part 
of  the  rite.     (Doubtful.) 

But  the  term  furnace  does  not 
mean  an  altar  of  sacrifice,  and  hu- 
man sacrifices  were  not  practised 
in  Egypt  then.  But  the  brick-kiln. 
which  was  connected  with  the  op- 
pressions of  the  Israelites  was  now 
employed  as  a  means  of  chastise- 
ment to  the  Egyptians,  their  tyran- 
nical masters.  Such  boils — ulcers — 
breaking  forth  with  Mains  or  blis- 
ters, on  man  and  beast,  was  an  in- 
tensifying of  what  they  had  known 
something  of,  in  lighter  forms  of 
cutaneous  eruption  —  the  severest 
inflammation  in  blotches,  like  ery- 
sipelas or  carbuncles  or  leprosy. 
Job's  disease,  elephantiasis,  was  of 
this  species,  making  the  feet  swol- 
len and  stiff  as  an  elephant's.  But 
here  the  miracle  consists  in  produc- 
ing it  by  the  ashes,  and  according  to 
a  specific  order  given  to  Moses.  The 


82 


EXODUS. 


12  And  the  Loud  hardened  the  heart  of  Pharaoh,  and  he 
hearkened  d  not  unto  them,  as  the  Lokd  had  spokeD  e  unto  Moses. 

13  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Rise  up  early  in  the 
morning,  and  stand  before  Pharaoh,  and  say  unto  him,  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews,  Let  my  people  go  that  they 
may  serve  me. 

14  For  I  will  at  this  time  send  all  f  my  plagues  upon  thine 
heart,  and  upon  thy  servants,  and  upon  thy  people  ;  that  thou 
mayest  know  that  there  is  none  like  me  in  all  the  earth. 

15  For  now  I  will  stretch  out  my  hand,  that  I  may  smite 
thee,  and  s  thy  people  with  pestilence ;  and  thou  shalt  be  cut 
off  from  the  earth. 


d  Ps.  81:  11.     e  ch.  4:  21.     f  Le.  20;  18;  De.  2£ 
8;  Re.  18:  8;  22:  18.    g  Pr.  2:  22. 


15-  29:  20;  32:  39;  ISa.  4:'8;  Jc.  19: 


act  of  sprinkling  the  ashes  toward 
the  heavens  had  a  meaning;  as  in 
sacrifices,  of  calling  God  to  witness. 
11.  The  effect  upon  the  magicians 
was  to  disable  them  by  the  attack 
of  the  disease  upon  their  own  per- 
sons. This  was  a  peculiarity  of  this 
plague.  The  Egyptian  priests  were 
most  intent  upon  personal  cleanli- 
ness, washing  twice  each  day  and 
twice  each  night,  and  avoiding  all 
defilement.  To  them  it  was  the 
more  shocking  to  be  smitten  with 
this  loathsome  disease.  .  The  Lord 
(Jehovah)  hardened,  etc.  So  ch.  4  : 
81.  The  Lord  wrought  the  miracle 
which  thus  resulted  in  his  harden- 
ing ;  though,  as  often,  Pharaoh  is 
said  to  have  hardened  his  own 
heart.  This  plague  strikes  deeper 
than  any  of  the  rest,  and  threatens 
the  life,  and  the  sacred  animals  are 
made  loathsome  with  disease.  What 
a  blow  to  the  obstinate  king  and 
people  !  The  magicians  could  not 
stand,  and  seem  to  have  given  way 
before  Moses. 

§  20.  The  Tihiid  Tmo.  The  Sev- 
enth Plague,  Hail.  Ch.  IX., 
13-35. 

13.  There  seems  to  have  been  a 
longer  interval  between  this  plague 
and  the  former,  and  a  new  and  for- 
mal demand  is  again  made,  with  a 
more  prolonged  address  to  Pharaoh. 


As  the  plagues  are  divided  into 
triplets,  so  this  one  begins  the  last 
series  ;  and  the  announcement  is 
terrible.  . I  will  at  this  time  send  all 
my  plagues  upon  thine  heart,  as  if  he 
was  now  to  look  out  for  these  blows 
at  the  very  core,  and  for  a  concen- 
tration of  them  all.  At  this  time — 
in  this  last  series.  The  first  mes- 
sage was  in  April  and  May,  after 
the  early  harvest,  when  they  could 
gather  stubble  ;  the  second  message, 
when  the  plagues  began,  was  prob- 
ably towards  the  end  of  June,  going 
on  at  intervals  until  the  winter. 
This  was  in  February.  See  v.  31. 
About  this  time  to-morrow  (v.  18), 
Murphy  says, "  Pharaoh  might  have 
learned  by  this' time  that  the  Lord  is 
punctual  to  His  time." 

14.  Upon  thine  heart — which  is 
so  hardened.  This  plague  was  to 
go  to  the  very  core,  and  not  merely 
to  strike  the  surface.  That  thou, 
mayest  know.  God  will  be  known 
and  acknowledged  by  the  kings  of 
the  earth.  Alas  for  those  who  are 
trying  to  persuade  themselves  and 
others  (on  scientific  grounds !)  that 
there  is  no  personal  God — only  "  a 
power."  But  what  power,  if  not  a 
Personal  power  ?  Only  a  law.  But 
"  a  law  implies  a  lawgiver,  and  the 
more  law  the  more  proof  of  a  law- 
giver."— Prof.  lien  ry. 

15.  "For  now  indeed  had  I  stretched 
forth  my  hand  and  smitten  thee, and 


CHAPTER  IX. 


83 


16  And  in  very  deed  for  h  this  cause  have  I  raised  thee  up, 
for  to  shew  in  thee  my  power  ;  and  that  my  name  may  be  de- 
clared throughout  all  the  earth. 

17  As  yet  exaltest  thou  thyself  i  against  my  people,  that 
thou  wilt  not  let  them  go  ? 

18  Behold,  to-morrow,  k  about  this  time,  I  will  cause  it  to 
rain  l  a  very  grievous  hail,  such  as  hath  not  been  in  Egypt 
since  the  foundation  thereof  even  until  now. 

19  Send  therefore  now,  and  gather  thy  cattle,  and  all  that 
thou  hast  in  the  field  ;  for  upon  every  man  and  beast  which 
shall  be  found  in  the  field,  and  shall  not  be  brought  home,  the 
hail  shall  come  m  down  upon  them,  and  they  shall  die. 

20  He  that  feared  the  word  n  of  the  Loud  among  the  ser- 
vants of  Pharaoh  made  his  servants  and  his  cattle  flee  into  the 
houses : 

21  And  he  that  regarded  o  not  the  word  of  the  Lord  left  his 
servants  and  his  cattle  in  the  field. 


h  Pr.  16:  4;  Ko.  9  :  IT;  1  Pe.  2:  8.     i  Job  9:  4:  15;  25,  26. 
:  15.     m  V.  25.      n  Pr.  16  :  16;  22  :  23.     och.7:  23. 


k  1  K.  19  2;  20  26.     1  Ps. 


thy  people  icith  the  pestilence,  then 
hadst  than  been  cut  off  from  the 
earth." — Speaker's  Com.  "  I  might 
have  smitten  thee  and  thy  people 
with  the  pestilence  as  easily  as  I 
smote  thy  cattle." — Murphy. 

16.  It  is  here  declared  why  God 
had  not  thus  cut  him  off.  He  Lad  a 
great  purpose  to  accomplish  in  his 
case,  by  making  him  an  example, 
as  he  has  truly  been  in  all  history. 
Raised  thee  up,  lit.  made  thee  stand 
— caused  thee  to  remain — permitted 
thee  to  live  and  hold  thy  place.  To 
sheio  (in)  thee  my  power.  Rom.  9  : 
17.  Literally,  to  show  thee  my 
power  for  a  motive  to  repentance 
and  faith,  as  against  all  false  gods. 
God  had  shown  to  him  his  long-suf- 
fering patience  and  goodness.  That 
my  name,  etc.  God's  name  (that 
character  by  which  He  makes  Him- 
self known)  would  thus  be  declared, 
published  abroad  in  all  the  earth,  as 
it  has  been. 

17.  As  yet.  Still,  notwithstand- 
ing all  God's  judgments,  he  is  hold- 
ing out,  and  stubbornly,  haughtily 
setting  himself  against  God. 

18.  Such  storms  of  rain  in  winter 
were  rare,   but  were  known,  and 


even  as  early  as  in  March,  in  Lower 
Egypt.  This  was  to  be  of  very 
great  severity,  and  such  as  had 
never  been  experienced  there.  It 
was  to  be  altogether  beyond  the 
working  of  natural  law,  and  thus 
miraculous. 

19.  Yet  how  gracious,  in  the 
midst  of  this  just  visitation  now 
threatened,  to  give  a  timely  warn- 
ing, so  that  any  who  believed  in 
God  might  avoid  the  calamity.  In 
judgment  God  remembers  mercy. 
He  would  show  that  His  object  is 
not  to  destroy  men,  but  to  draw  sin- 
ners to  himself.  The  cattle  were  not 
all  destroyed  bv  the  former  plague. 
(See  v.  3.)  Some  are  left.  They 
were  turned  out  to  pasture  in  the 
open  field  commonly  from  January 
to  April,  and  after  that  they  were 
gathered,  that  is,  brought  in  under 
cover,  and  fed  in  stalls.  ^[  Not  be 
brought  home.  The  only  condition 
of  salvation  for  man  or  beast  was  tc 
get  home.  This  is  fulfilled  in  the 
gospel.  We  find  a  home  in  Christ 
rest  for  the  soul,  and  a  mansion  ii 
the  Father's  house. 

20.  lie  that  feared  the  Lord. 
There  were  some  who  feared  Jeho- 


84 


EXODUS. 


22  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses  :  Stretch  forth  thine  hand 
toward  heaven,  that  there  may  be  hail  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt, 
upon  man,  and  upon  beast,  and  upon  every  herb  of  the  field, 
throughout  the  land  of  Egypt. 

23  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his  rod  toward  heaven  ;  and 
the  Lord  sent  thunder  and  p  hail,  and  the  fire  ran  along  upon 
the  ground:  and  the  Lord  rained  hail  upon  the  land  of  Egypt. 

24  So  there  was  hail,  and  fire  mingled  with  the  hail  very 
grievous,  such  as  there  was  none  like  it  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt 
since  it  became  a  nation. 

25  And  the  hail  smote  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt  all 
that  was  in  the  field,  both  man  and  beast ;  and  the  hail  smote 
every  herb  of  the  field,  and  brake  every  tree  of  the  field. 

26  Only  in  the  land  of  Goshen,  <i  where  the  children  of  Israel 
were,  was  there  no  hail. 

27  And  Pharaoh  sent,  and  called  for  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
said  unto  them,  I  have  sinned  this  time  :  the  Lord  is  righteous, 
and  I  and  my  people  are  wicked. 

28  Entreat  the  Lord  (for  r  it  is  enough)  that  there  be  no 
more  mighty  thunderings  and  hail ;  and  I  will  let  you  go,  and 
ye  shall  stay  no  longer. 


p  Jos.  10:  11;  ISa.  12:  17,  18;  Job  38:  22;  Ps.  18:  13;  78:  47;  105:  32;  Is. 
3:  22;  Re.  8:  7.     q  ch.  8:  22,  &c;  Ts.  32:  18,  19.    r  Ac.  8:  24. 


30;  Eze. 


vah,  even  amongst  the  Egyptians. 
God  gives  ample  warning,  and  op- 
portunity for  all  such  to  escape. 

22.  The  plague  came  at  the  time 
appointed.  Moses  is  the  visible 
agent  in  these  three  plagues,  hail, 
locusts  and  darkness  (see  ch.  x : 
12-21,)  by  stretching  forth  his  hand 
with  the  rod  (v.  23),  which  was  the 
symbol  of  power,  toward  heaven. 

23.  There  was  all  the  threatened 
severity,  ''thunder  and  hail,  and  the 
fire  ran  along  the  ground" — lit. 
stalked  along  the  ground — in  vivid 
flashes  of  lightning*  ^[  Rained  hail. 
Poured  down  hail  like  rain — in  tor- 
rents. Fire  mingled  with  the  hail. 
Bolts  of  lightning  flashing  along 
with  the  hail,  most  terrifically  dis- 
playing the  Divine  power,  God  in 
nature,  and  above  nature,  using  na- 
ture to  do  His  will. 

26.  Only  in  the  land  of  Goshen. 
The  miracle  was  shown  by  confin- 
ing the  plague  to  the  Egyptians  and 
sparing  the  Israelites. 


27.  Pharaoh  was  moved  to  seek 
terms.  He  so  far  humbled  himself 
as  to  send  for  Moses  and  Aaron, 
and  make  confession  of  sin.  1  have 
sinned  this  time — this  once.  It  is  a 
confession  for  the  whole  contro- 
versy, and  makes  a  clean  breast  of 
it.  But  it  was  the  third  time  he 
had  so  confessed  to  no  purpose.  He 
must  have  seen  that  God  had  power 
to  crush  him,  and  he  is  driven  by 
his  fears  to  seek  conciliation.  Je- 
hovah is  righteous,  and  I  and  my 
people  are  wicked.  This  was  a 
confession  like  that  of  Judas.  It 
is  the  substantial  form  of  a  true  con- 
fession, but  it  does  not  carry  his  heart 
by  love.  He  is  driven,  not  drawn. 
28.  He  asks  the  intercession  of 
Moses  and  Aaron.  Better  that  he 
had  been  brought  to  his  knees. 
They  who  only  go  so  far  as  to  seek 
the  mediation  and  intercession  of 
saints,  on  earth  or  in  heaven,  show 
no  true  repentance.  No  more  mighty 
thunderings,  lit.,  voices  of  God. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


85 


29  And  Moses  said  unto  him,  As  soon  as  I  am  gone  out  of 
the  city  I  will  spread  abroad  my  hands  8  unto  the  Lord  ;  and 
the  thunder  shall  cease,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  hail ; 
that  thou  mayest  know  how  that  the  earth  is  the  Lord's.* 

30  But  as  for  thee  and  thy  servants,  I  know  that  ye  will  not 
yet  v  fear  the  Lord  God. 

3 1  And  the  flax  and  the  barley  was  smitten  ;  w  for  the  barley 
was  in  the  ear,  and  the  flax  was  boiled. 

32  But  the  wheat  and  the  rye  were  not  smitten;  for  they 
were  not  grown  up. 

33  And  Moses  went  out  of  the  city  from  Pharaoh,  and 
spread  abroad  his  hands  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  the  thunders  and 
hail  ceased,  and  the  rain  was  not  poured  upon  the  earth. 

34  And  when  Pharaoh  saw  that  the  rain  and  hail  and  the 
thunders  were  ceased,  he  sinned  yet  x  more,  and  hardened  his 
heart,  he  and  his  servants. 

35  And  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  was  hardened,  neither  would 
he  let  the  children  of  Israel  go;  as  the  Lord  had  spoken  by 
Moses. 


8  IKi.  8:  38;  Ps.  143: 
9;  Ha.  3:  17.    x2Ch.  33: 


Is.  1:  15.     t  Ps.  24:  1;  ICo.  10: 
36:  13;  Ro.  2:  4,  5. 


v  Is.  26;  10.    w  Am.  4: 


29.  Moses  consents  to  the  propo- 
sition of  Pharaoh  ;  and  this  he  did 
to  show  that  the  earth  is  the  Lord's. 
Such  control  over  all  the  phenom- 
ena and  laws  of  nature  would  surely 
prove  that  Jehovah  was  Lord  of  the 
natural  world. 

30.  Moses,  however,  notifies  Pha- 
raoh that  his  wicked  obstinacy  is  not 
yet  overcome. 

31.  32.  God  pleased  to  smite  the 
flax  upon  which  the  people  depended 
for  their  linen  fabrics,  and  the  bar- 
ley with  which  they  fed  their  cattle. 
But  he  spared  the  wheat  and  the 
rye  for  flour  and  food.  ^  The  flax 
was  boiled,  in  blossom  or  in  the  pod. 
The  barley  being  now  in  the  ear 
shows  that  the  season  must  have 
been  about  the  first  of  March.  ^.Rye 
was  not  such  as  is  known  to  us,  but 
a  coarse  food  known  as  doora  among 
the  natives  —  here  rendered  spelt. 
Egypt  was  the  great  granary  of  the 
world  at  that  time,  and  even  the 
damaging  of  the  crop  would  be  a 
serious  loss. 

34.  When  the  immediate  ground 
of    fear   was    removed    Pharaoh's 


heart  icas  hardened  as  before,  and 
he  sinned  yet  more.  So  vain  is  a 
repentance  that  springs  from  mere 
terror.  Here  the  term  for  hardened 
is  not  the  same  as  is  commonly  used 
in  the  narrative ;  it  means  here  he 
stupefied  his  heart — made  it  dull, 
obtuse,  lit.,  made  heavy  his  heart. 
And  in  the  next  sentence  is  the  old 
word,  and  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  was 
hardened,  etc.  And  this  occurred 
as  Moses  had  forewarned  Pharaoh 
(v.  30),  showing  to  the  haughty 
monarch,  and  to  the  world,  that 
God  knows  the  heart  and  searches 
through  all  the  vain  disguises  of 
it. 

Observe  —  Nature  is  not  God. 
Laws  of  nature  cannot  dispense  with 
God — a  Personal  God.  For  the  more 
we  find  evidence  of  laws  in  nature 
the  more  proof  we  find  of  God,  for 
law  implies  a  lawgiver. 

Hengstenberg  says  :  "  A  natural 
substratum  is  present  in  all  the 
plagues,  while  in  none  is  a  natural 
explanation  admissible.  The  mira- 
cles are  taken  from  the  most  various 
departments.      That   which  was   a 


EXODUS. 


CHAPTER  X. 


AND  the  Lord   said   unto  Moses,  Go  in  unto  Pharaoh:  for  I 
have  a  hardened  his  heart,  and  the  heart  of  his  servants,  that 
I  might  shew  these  ray  signs  before  him: 

2  And  that  thou  niayest  tell  in  the  ears  of  thy  son,  b  and  of 
thy  son's  son,  what  things  I  have  wrought  in  Egypt,  and  my 
signs  which  I  have  done  among  them  ;  that  ye  may  know  how 
c  that  I  am  the  Lord. 


ch. 


13,  14.     b  De.  4: 


20;  Ps.  44:  1;  71:  18;  78:  5;  Joel  1:  3.     c  Ps.  58:  11. 


blessing  to  Egypt  was  converted 
into  a  curse.  That  which  was 
already  in  existence  as  an  evil  is 
increased  to  a  fearful  extent.  The 
smallest  animals  become  a  terrible 
army  of  God.  In  this  way  it  was 
shown  that  every  blessing,  which 
ungrateful  Egypt  attributed  to  its 
idols,  originated  with  Jehovah,  and 
that  it  was  He  alone  who  checked 
the  efficacy  of  that  which  was  inju- 
rious. Cahiii  says  of  Pharaoh, 
"  The  image  of  human  pride  and  re- 
bellion is  submitted  to  us  here  in 
the  person  of  one  reprobate."  Ilcng- 
stenberg  adds,  "  In  conformity  with 
God's  constant  method  in  nature 
and  history,  the  matter  was  so  ar- 
ranged that  unbelief  always  retain- 
ed some  hook  to  which  it  could  hang, 
for  God  always  gives  light  enough 
even  for  weak  faith,  at  the  same 
time  leaving  so  much  darkness  that 
unbelief  may  continue  its  night -life. 

CHAPTER  X. 

§  21.     The  Eighth  Plague — Lo- 
custs.    Ch.  X :  1-21. 

1.  There  is  yet  another  blow  to  be 
struck  at  Pharaoh's  obdurate  impen- 
itence. God's  messengers  are  sent 
witli  still  another  presentation  of 
the  same  old  message.  Thus  God 
sends  His  gospel  servants,  and  the 
same  message  is  repeated  to  men — 
to  believe  and  accept  the  salvation, 
and  live.  ^[  For  I  have  hardened, 
made  heavy,  the  same  term  as  in 
ch.  9  :  84.     It  came  to  pass  that  the 


dealing  which  should  have  quick- 
ened his  heart  only  stupefied  it 
because  of  its  own  dullness  and 
insensibility  to  the  truth.  Speak- 
er's Com.  suggests  that  this  can  be 
accounted  for  as  an  effect  of  God's 
goodness  in  sparing  the  corn,  and 
that  when  Pharaoh  saw  that  this 
dependence  was  not  cut  off  he  be-' 
came  insensible  and  careless  as 
ever.  ^[  Rather,  it  occurred  as  in 
the  case  of  Isaiah,  who  was  com- 
manded by  God  to  make  the  heart 
of  the  people  fat,  and  their  ears  dull 
of  hearing  ;  that  is  he  was  to  preach 
on  though  plainly  that  would  be  the 
result  of  his  preaching,  and  so  he 
is  spoken  of  as  doing  to  them  what 
his  preaching  effected,  making  them 
gross  and  stupid  under  his  ministry. 
^|  That  I  might  show,  lit.  might  set, 
or  put  before  him.  We  are  not  to 
understand  by  this  that  God  har- 
dened him  to  make  him  a  public 
spectacle.  Rather,  as  his  hardening 
was  the  effect  of  that  Divine  dealing 
which  ought  to  have  brought  about 
his  repentance,  so  God's  plan  was  to 
show  these  my  -signs  before  him — to  set 
forth  these  my  (miraculous)  works  in 
the  midst  of  him,  i.  e.  of  his  people, 
the  Egyptians. 

2.  And  that  thou  (i.  e.  Moses  and 
all  Israel)  mayest  tell,  for  the  benefit 
of  after  generations,  and  to  show 
the  principles  of  the  Divine  admin- 
istration for  all  time,  and  to  prove 
the  Unity  and  Personality  of  Jeho- 
vah, as  against  all  false  gods.  God 
thus  advertises  to  Moses  the  plan  of 
His   operations  with  Pharaoh,  and 


CHAPTER  X. 


87 


3  And  Moses  and  Aaron  came  in  unto  Pharaoh,  and  said 
unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews,  How  long 
wilt  thou  refuse  to  humble  d  thyself  before  me  ?  Let  my  people 
go,  that  they  may  serve  me. 

4  Else,  if  thou  refuse  to  let  my  people  go,  behold,  to-morrow 
will  I  bring  the  locusts  e  into  thy  coast : 

5  And  they  shall  cover  the  face  of  the  earth,  that  one  cannot 
be  able  to  see  the  earth :  and  they  shall  eat  the f  residue  of  that 
which  is  escaped,  which  remaineth  unto  you  from  the  hail,  and 
shall  eat  every  tree  which  groweth  for  you  out  of  the  field  : 

6  And  they  shall  fill  thy  houses,  s  and  the  houses  of  all  thy 
servants,  and  the  houses  of  all  the  Egyptians;  which  neither 
thy  fathers,  nor  thy  fathers' fathers  have  seen,  since  the  day  that 
they  were  upon  the  earth  unto  this  day.  And  he  turned  himself, 
and  went  out  from  Pharaoh. 


d  IKi.  21:  29;  2Ch.  7:  14;  33:  12,19;  Job.  42: 
Re.  9:  3.    f  ch.  9:  32.    s  vcr.  14, 15;  ch.  8:  3. 


Je.  13:  18;  Ja.  4:  10. 


Pr. 


27; 


thus  strengthens  his  faith  and  cour- 
age. I  have  wrought.  The  term 
implies  a  work  of  bringing  to  shame 
and  grief.  That  ye  may  know.  This 
is  God's  clearly-announced  object  in 
these  wondrous  works — to  promote 
the  faith  of  His  people — "  to  reveal 
the  Creator  in  His  true  character  to 
man.  This  is  the  lesson  of  na- 
ture, of  providence  and  of  grace,  to 
those  who  read  and  understand." — 
Murphy. 

3.  God's  object  with  Pharaoh  in 
these  miraculous  judgments  was  to 
bring  him  down  from  his  loftiness 
and  proud  defiance  to  a  becoming 
humility.  This  is  not  any  arbitrary 
pleasure  in  man's  humiliations.  It 
is  for  man's  good,  in  bringing  him 
to  take  his  proper  place.  All  Pha- 
raoh's pretended  humility  was  noth- 
ing, because  it  resulted  in  nothing 
but  pretence,  and  so  was  a  mockery 
most  offensive  to  God. 

4.  The  locusts.  Lo!  Iambringing 
to-morrow  the  locusts.  The  locust 
belongs  to  the  parts  of  Africa  south 
and  west  of  Egypt,  and  also  to 
Asia.  The  term  here  is  from  a  word 
meaning  to  multiply,  and  refers  to 
their  numbers.  The  prophet  Joel 
describes  a  penal  visitation  of  lo- 
custs. Travellers  speak  of  them  in 
clouds  darkening  the  sky  and  cover- 


ing the  ground.  Tischendorf  speaks 
of  such  a  locust  storm,  in  which 
they  covered  the  whole  country,  in 
March.  The  people  often  used  them 
for  food — but  they  made  havoc  of 
every  green  thing.  They  are  four 
or  five  inches  long,  and  much  like 
the  grasshopper,  in  appearance. 

5.  Here  the  devastation  which 
the  locusts  would  make  is  described 
in  fearful  terms.  Pharaoh  had  fair 
notice.  What  was  left  from  the 
hail  would  be  destroyed  by  these 
insects,  and  the  whole  land  would 
be  stripped  of  verdure  (ch.  9  :  32). 
Eat  every  tree.  Not  only  the  leaves 
but  the  bark,  killing  the  tree. 

6.  Worse  than  all,  they  would 
come  into  the  houses  through  the 
open  lattices  or  doorways  (see  Joel 
2  :  9).  Neither  thy  fathers.  It 
should  be  worse  than  was  ever 
known  within  the  memory  of  man. 

7.  Pharaoh's  servants.  Now  for 
the  first  time  the  monarch's  house- 
hold is  aroused,  as  they  are  deeply 
interested  and  have  a  right  to  protest 
against  the  wicked  obstinacy  of  the 
king.  If  A  snare — a  trap.  They  find 
themselves  involved  in  certain  ruin 
by  this  course,  and  they  see  the  only 
remedy.  Let  the  men  go,  that  is,  the 
people — and  not  the  men  alone. 
Speak.  Com.  thinks  they  meant  the 


88  EXODUS. 

7  And  Pharaoh's  servants  said  unto  him,  How  long  shall  this 
man  beh  a  snare  unto  us?  Let  the  men  go,  that  they  may  serve 
the  Lord,  their  God :  Knowest  thou  not  yet  that  Egypt  is 
destroyed  ? 

8  And  Moses  and  Aaron  were  brought  again  unto  Pharaoh  : 
and  he  said  unto  them,  Go  serve  the  Lord,  your  God :  but  who 
are  they  that  shall  go  ? 

9  And  Moses  said:  TVewill  go  with  our  young  and  with  our 
old,  with  our  sons  and  with  our  daughters  ;  with  our  flocks  and 
with  our  herds  will  we  go :  for  we  must  hold  a  feast  unto  the 
Lord. 

10  And  he  said  unto  them,  Let  the  Lord  be  so  with  you  as 
I  will  let  you  go,  and  your  little  ones :  look  to  it  y  for  evil  is 
before  you. 

11  Not  so:  go  now  ye  that  are  men,  and  serve  the  Lord  ; 
for  that  ye  did  desire.  And  they  were  driven  out  from  Pha- 
raoh's presence. 

12  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Stretch  *  out  thine  hand 


h  ch.  23:  33;  Jos. 


13;  ISa.  18:  21 ;  Pr.  29; 


Ec.  7:  26. 


i    Ch.  7:  19. 


men  only,  as  Pharaoh  proposes. 
The  object  is  reasonable  and  proper 
that  they  may  serve  Jehovah  their  God. 
And  the  point  is  pressed  as  they  see 
and  feel  it.  Egypt  is  ruined  by  Pha- 
raoh's obstinate  and  blind  refusal. 
The  king  knew  very  little  how  wide- 
spread and  woful  was  the  ruin  of 
the  land.  At  least  they  think  it  was 
fair  so  to  suppose.  Knowest  thou  not 
yet! 

8.  Here  at  length  Pharaoh 
yields,  so  as  to  have  Moses  and 
Aaron  brought  before  him,  and  so 
far  to  grant  their  request  as  to  pro- 
pose a  compromise.  The  question 
now  is  Who  shall  go  ?  He  is  ready 
to  grant.  But.  "  Go — who  and  who 
that  shall  go  V  lit — who  are  the  going 
ones  ?" 

9.  It  is  customary  to  go  with  the 
little  ones  to  great  festivals.  We 
have  seen  the  multitudes  in  a  cara- 
van— the  children  swung  on  the 
backs  and  sides  of  the  horses  and 
asses — going  to  the  Easter  festival 
in  Palestine. 

10.  Pharaoh  was  indignant  and 
replied,  Jehovah  be  with  you  when 
I  shall  release  you  and  your  lit- 
tle ones.    Or,  ma\  Jehovah  be  with 


you  in  the  same  way  as  I  shall 
let  you  go.  This  was  a  bold  defi- 
ance of  the  Almighty  as  well  as  of 
His  servants.  See  !  for  evil  is  before 
your  face,  or  in  your  mind  and  pur- 
pose. Or  it  may  mean — Look  ye — 
for  you  will  have  trouble.  This, 
then  would  be  a  threat.  And  this 
is  the  more  likely  interpretation. 

11.  Not  so.  It  is  not  allowed 
them  to  do  as  they  wish  in  a  body, 
altogether — but  only  the  men.  Go 
now  ye  that  are  men — if  you  please 
to  accept  this  compromise.  But 
not  waiting  for  an  answer,  nor  wish- 
ing for  any — he  drove  them — one 
drove  them  out  from  the  face  of 
Pharaoh.  The  term  here  for  your 
little  ones — taphkem,  Payne  Smith 
takes  to  mean — your  household 
clans.  Another  effort  at  comprom- 
ise !  So  the  world  proposes  to  keep 
the  children  as  a  pledge  for  the  pa- 
rents' service.  But  no !  The  pa-, 
rents  released  and  gone  away  and 
the  children  left  in  Egypt !  And 
yet  how  many  christian  families 
make  this  compromise  ? 

12.  Moses  is  now  bidden  to  exe- 
cute God's  threats  and  bring  on  the 
plague,  upon  the  defiant  Pharaoh, 


CHAPTER  X. 


over  the  land  of  Egypt  for  the  locusts,  that  they  may  come  up 
upon  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  eat  every  herb  of  the  land,  even 
all  that  the  hail  hath  left. 

13  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his  rod  over  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  the  Lord  brought  an  east  wind  upon  the  land  all 
that  day,  and  all  that  night ;  and  when  it  was  morning,  the 
J  east  wind  brought  the  locusts. 

14  And  the  locusts  k  went  up  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
rested  in  all  the  coasts  of  Egypt;  very  grievous  tcere  they ; 
before  them  there  were  no  such  locusts  1  as  they,  neither  after 
them  shall  be  such : 

15  For  they  covered  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  so  that 
the  land  was  darkened;  and  they  did  eat  every  herb  of  the  land, 
and  all  the  fruit  of  the  trees  which  the  hail  had  left:  and  there 
remained  not  any  green  thing  in  the  trees,  or  in  the  herbs  of  the 
field,  through  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

16  Then  Pharaoh  called  for  Moses  and  Aaron  in  haste,  and 
he  said,  I  have  sinned  against  m  the  Loed  your  God,  and  against 
you. 

1 7  Now,  therefore,  forgive,  I  pray  thee,  my  sin  only  n  this 


j  Ps.  78: 
H  IKi.  13:  6 


26;  107:  25;  Mat.  8:  27. 
Is.  26:  16. 


k  Ps.  78: 


105:  34.      1  Joel  2:2.      m  C.  9:  27. 


for  the  locust,  Belitzsch  reads  with 
the  locust — so  that  they  may  come  up 
— as  an  army. 

13.  Moses  did  as  lie  was  bidden, 
and  Jehovah  brought  an  East  wind. 
The  locust  storm  was  commonly 
brought  about  by  a  wind.  But  Je- 
hovah orought  the  wind,  which 
brought  the  locusts — "Who  rideth 
upon  the  wings  of  the  wind."  The 
natural  phenomenon  is  superseded 
here  by  the  preternatural  and  mir- 
aculous. The  wind  rose  at  the  sig- 
nal of  Moses'  rod — and  that  wind 
brought  at  once  such  a  locust  storm 
as  was  never  known  before.  God 
works  in  nature,  through  nature, 
and  above  nature,  as  the  Lawgiver 
of  natural  law.  This  course  of  the 
wind  was  unusual  in  Egypt. 
Brought.  This  word  in  the  two 
clauses  answers  to  different  Heb. 
terms.  The  first  means  directed — 
the  second  means  bore  along.  The 
locusts  were  swept  over  from  Ara- 
bia. 

14.  They  swarmed  so  as  to  cover 
the  land  and  to  settle  down  upon 


the  whole  country.  Brown,  in  his 
travels  in  Africa,  mentions  such  a 
visitation,  in  which  nearly  2000 
square  miles  were  covered  by  them. 
Went  up.     Rising  like  a  cloud. 

15.  The  land  was  darkened. 
They  lay  so  thick  on  the  ground  as 
to  blacken  it — besides  that  in  their 
flight  the  sun  was  obscured.  Major 
Moore  speaks  of  a  locust-storm  such 
as  to  hide  the  sun  like  an  eclipse, 
and  to  settle  on  the  ground  for  500 
miles  in  extent.  The  result  was  as 
widespread  and  desolating  as  had 
been  threatened.     See  Joel  chs.  1,2. 

16.  This  judgment  brought 
Pharaoh  to  terms.  Pliny  calls  this 
plague  Beorum  irm  pestis.  Pha- 
raoh is  brought  to  confession  of  sin 
and  humiliation  before  God's  ser- 
vants. His  words  are  those  of  pen- 
itence. What  will  be  his  acts  ?  He 
said  truly  that  he  had  sinned  both 
against  God  and  against  His  ser- 
vants. Baud  said — "  Against  thee 
— thee  only  have  I  sinned."  Ps. 
51:  1. 

17.  Pharaoh  asks  forgiveness  of 


90 


EXODUS. 


once,  and  entreat  the  Lord  your  God,  that  he  may  take  away 
from  me  this  death  only. 

18  And  he  went  out  from  Pharaoh,   and    entreated    the 

LOED. 

19  And  the  Loud  turned  a  mighty  strong  west  wind, 
which  took  away  the  locusts,  and  cast  them  °  into  the  Red  Sea; 
there  remained  not  one  locust  in  all  the  coasts  of  Egypt. 

20  But  the  Lord  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  so  that  he  would 
not  let  the  children  of  Israel  go. 

21  And  the  Loed  said  unto  Moses,  Stretch  out  thine  hand 
toward  heaven,  that  there  may  be  darkness  p  over  the  land  of 
Egypt,  even  darkness  which  may  be  felt. 


o  Joel  2:  20. 


p  Ps.  35:  6;  103:  23;  Pr.  4:  19;  Ec.  2:  14;  6:  4;  Is.  8:  22. 


God's  servants,  not  of  God  himself, 
v.nd  he  seeks  their  prayers  that  he 
»nay  be  saved  from  the  penalty  of 
Iiis  sin.  Only  this  once.  This  is 
his  second  time  of  confessing  his 
sin,  and  the  fourth  time  of  entreat- 
ing- deliverance.  But  he  never  was 
in  such  severe  extremity  as  now. 
He  thinks  if  only  this  once  he  can  be 
spared,  all  will  be  well.  This  is 
like  the  entreaties  of  many  a  death- 
bed repentance  that  is  equally  in- 
sincere with  this. 

This  death  only.  Pharaoh  re- 
cognized this  as  a  deadly  destruc- 
tive plague,  resulting,  if  uncheck- 
ed, in  the  starvation  and  ruin  of  his 
people.  So  some  in  great  trouble, 
plead  for  the  sparing  of  a  child,  or 
the  removal  of  a  grievous  burdeii, 
and  for  this  only — as  if  they  could 
ask  nothing  greater,  and  would 
wish  nothing  more,  and  as  if  to  se- 
cure this  they  would  willingly  do 
anything.  But  how  often  the 
prayer  proves  to  be  insincere.  When 
the  trouble  is  gone  the  pious 
pledges  are  gone  also.  God's  de- 
mand of  the  world's  kingdom  is, 
"  Let  my  'people  go  !  " 

18,  19.  Moses  besought  the  Lord 
— Jehovah — according  to  Pharaoh's 
entreaty.  And  God  showed  to  the 
king  His  absolute  control  of  natu- 
ral laws  and  events  by  staying  the 
calamity,  and  this  through  means  of 
physical  operations.  As  He  raised 
an  East   wind  to  bring  on  the  lo- 


custs, so  He  raised  a  West  wind  to 
carry  them  off.  *[  Turned  a  very 
mighty  west  wind,  lit.,  a  wind  of 
the  sea.  It  would  be  a  N.  West 
wind  from  Egypt,  but  W.  from 
Palestine.  And  so  it  would  blow 
from  the  Mediterranean  across 
Egypt  in  the  direction  of  the  Red 
Sea.  This  was  a  merciful  disposi- 
tion to  make  of  such  masses  as 
would  have  created  a  pestilence  if 
they  had  been  laid  dead  and  putrefy- 
ing on  the  soil.  %  Bed  Sea  Heb. 
See  of  Suph.  This  term  is  sup- 
posed to  refer  to  the  sea-weed  that 
floats  upon  the  surface — though 
others  think  it  is  from  a  town  of 
that  name  supposed  to  have  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  sea.  The  exter- 
mination of  the  locusts  was  com- 
plete. 

20.  The  Lord  (Jehovah)  hardened. 
Murphy  says,  "  The  very  long  suf- 
fering of  the  Lord  only  adds  to  the 
infatuation  of  his  ingrate  heart." 

§    22.      The     Ninth    Plague.— 
Darkness.    Ch  IX  :  21-29. 

21.  God's  methods  were  not  yet 
exhausted.  Now  the  penal  inflic- 
tion was  darkness — thick  darkness 
— which  may  be  felt,  lit.,  and  one 
shall, gro&p  darkness.  Here  again  a 
blow  was  struck  at  the  Egyptian 
idolatries.  They  were  worshippers 
of  the  Sun-God.  The  plague  came 
suddenly  and  without  notice.     The 


CHAPTER  X. 


91 


22  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his  hand  toward  heaven, 
and  there  was  a  thick  darkness  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt  three 
days. 

23  They  saw  not  one  another,  neither  rose  any  from  his  place 
for  three  days :  but  all  the  children  of  Israel  had  <i  light  in  their 
dwellings. 

24  And  Pharaoh  called  unto  Moses  and  said,  Go  ye,  serve  the 
Lord;  only  let  your  flocks  and  your  herds  be  stayed:  let  your 
little  ones  also  go  with  you. 

25  And  Moses  said,  Thou  must  give  us  also  sacrifices  and 
burnt-offerings  that  we  may  sacrifice  unto  the  Loed  our  God. 

26  Our  cattle  r  also  shall  go  with  us;  there  shall  not  an  hoof  be 
left  behind:  for  thereof  must  we  take  to  serve  the  Lord  our  God ; 
and  we  know  not  with  what  we  must  serve  the  Lord  until  we 
come  thither. 

27  But  the  Lord  hardened  s  Pharaoh's  heart,  and  he  would 
not  let  them  go. 

q  Is.  42:  16;  Col.  1:  13;  IPe.  2:  9.     r  Ho.  5:  6;  Zee.  14:  20.     s  Ver.  1:  20;  ch.  14:  4,  8. 


Egyptians  knew  something  of 
darkness  in  tlie  Simoom  that  blows 
after  the  vernal  equinox  and  sweeps 
the  fine  sand  from  the  desert  in 
thick  clouds,  obscuring-  the  sun  and 
filling  the  air  so  as  to  make  artifi- 
cial iight  of  little  use.  But  this 
came  at  a  sign  from  Moses — came 
with  the  utmost  severity,  blacken- 
ing as  never  before  the  face  of  na- 
ture, and  yet  not  extending  to  the 
abodes  of  the  Israelites.  This 
showed  it  to  be  miraculous. 

22.  A  thick  darkness.  (See  Ps. 
IO.j  :  28,)  lit — darkness  of  gloom — 
the  thickest  darkness.  (See  Rev. 
1G  :  10.)  It  was  blackness  of  dark- 
ness— as  a  significant  penalty — a 
judgment  upon  the  blind  and  wick- 
ed monarch.  Three  days.  The 
duration  of  it  is  exactly  noted, 
whether  with  any  special  signifi- 
cance or  not. 

23.  But.  The  contrast  shows 
the  supernatural  origin  of  this 
plague.  It  was  light  to  the  Israel- 
ites at  the  same  time  that  the  thick 
darkness  hung  upon  the  Egyptians. 

2-1.  Pharaoh  now  again  seems  to 
relent  and  to  grant  their  release. 
Yet  there  is  a  "  but " —  an  excep- 
tion made.     He  will  have  the  flocks 


and  herds  left  behind,  while  he  con- 
cedes what  he  had  denied  before,  the 
departure  of  the  little  ones.  Pha- 
raoh would  have  the  flocks  and 
herds  as  a  security  for  the  people's 
return. 

25.  Moses  here  insisted  upon 
cattle  being  allowed  to  them  for 
their  sacrifice.  Not  that  Pharaoh 
should  give  these  to  the  Israelites, 
but  that  he  should  allow  them  to 
take  these  with  them  for  sacrifices, 
according  to  their  declared   object. 

26.  So  Moses  insists  that  it  is  es- 
sential to  their  purpose  to  offer  sac- 
rifice to  God,  and  because  they 
could  not  know  precisely  and  fully 
what  would  be  required  of  them  in 
this  matter  until  they  should  reach 
the  place.  He  would  not  be  tram- 
melled or  held  in  bondage.  The 
people  and  what  belonged  to  them, 
must  be  free. 

27.  Here  again  it  is  on  record, 
that  Pharaoh's  heart-hardening  pre- 
vented the  people's  release.  And 
again  this  result  is  ascribed  to  Je- 
hovah, because  it  was  the  result  of 
His  Providential  dealing.  A  hard- 
ened heart  will  always  find  some- 
thing to  object  to  in  God's  most 
righteous  demands.     And  God  does 


92 


EXODUS. 


28  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  him,  Get  thee  from  me,  take  heed 
to  thyself,  see  my  face  no  more :  *  for  in  that  day  thou  seest  my 
face  thou  shalt  die. 

29  And  Moses  said,  Thou  hast  spoken  well,  u  I  will  see  thy 
face  again  no  more. 

CHAPTER  XL 

AND  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Yet  will  I  bring  one  plague 
more  upon  Pharaoh,  and  upon  Egypt ;  afterwards  he  will  let 
you  go  hence:  when  he  shall  let  you  go,  he  shall  surely  thrust 
you  out  hence  a  altogether. 


t  2Ch.  16:  10;  25:  16;  Am.  7:  13.        u  He.  11:27.        a.  ch.  12:  31- 


not  compel  the  sinner's  obedience 
against  his  will — and  if  the  will  is 
not  constrained,  the  act  even  is  no 
real  obedience  in  God's  sight.  God 
will  take  the  will  for  the  deed,  but 
never  the  deed  for  the  will. 

28.  Pharaoh  now  becomes  exas- 
perated and  speaks  like  a  madman. 
Unbelief  often  thus  grows  insane. 
He  madly  dismisses  God's  ambassa- 
dor from  his  presence,  and  makes 
it  a  capital  crime  to  visit  him  again, 
though  Pharaoh  had  sent  for  him, 
(v.  16.) 

29.  Moses  accepts  the  situation. 
Very  well,  he  says,  I  will  leave  you 
forever,  if  you  so  please.     Felix  was 

more  polite  with  Paul.  He  said, 
"  Go  thy  way  for  this  time,  when 
I  have  a  convenient  season  I  will 
call  for  thee."  (Acts.  24  :  25.)  But 
the  result  was  much  the  same. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

§  23.  The  Tenth  Plague 
Threatened. — Death  op  the 
First  born.  Ch.  XI :  1-10. 

While  these  interviews  with 
Pharaoh  were  going  on,  and  these 
successive  rebuffs,  Moses  was  keep- 
ing up  communication  with  his  peo- 
ple, doubtless,  as  he  had  begun, 
ch.  4:  29,  31,  etc.  But  the  histori- 
an cannot  narrate  them  both  at  the 
same  time.  Some  read  here,  And 
the  Lord  had  said  unto  Moses,  thus 


going  back  in  the  history  to  take  up 
the  thread  of  conference  with 
Israel,  in  all  this  extremity.  So 
that  v.  4  of  this  chapter  continues 
the  conversation  with  Pharaoh  from 
ch.  10  ;  29— and  leaves  vs.  1-3  of 
this  chapter  as  a  parenthesis,  and 
the  closing  sentence  of  v.  8  is  the 
finale. 

1.  Yet  one  plague.  There  was 
to  be  one  more — and  this  was  to  be 
final  and  decisive — the  tenth— as 
ten  is  the  number  of  completion — 
as  many  plagues  as  there  were  to 
be  commandments.  Meanwhile  God 
assures  Moses  of  the  result,  which 
this  time  should  be  their  release 
and  deliverance.  ^[  When  he  shall, 
etc.  Sp.  Com.  suggests  the  reading, 
When  he  lets  you  go  altogether,  he 
will  surely  thrust  you  out  hence. 
When  he  at  length  lets  you  go  with 
children,  flocks  and  herds  alto- 
gether, he  will  drive  you  out  in 
haste.  "  In  fact,  on  each  occasion, 
when  Pharaoh  relented  for  a  sea- 
son, immediate  orders  would  of 
course  be  issued  by  Moses  to  the 
heads  of  the  people,  who  were  thus 
repeatedly  brought  into  a  state 
of  more  or  less  complete  organiza- 
tion for  the  final  movement."  Sp. 
Com. 

2.  This  is  God's  order  for  the 
thorough  equipment  of  the  peoplo 
for  their  wilderness  journey.  ^[  Let 
every  man  borrow.  Moses  was  to 
give    this  direction   to  the  people. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


93 


2  Speak  now  in  the  ears  of  the  people,  and  let  every  man 
borrow  of  his  neighbor,  and  every  woman  of  her  neighbor, 
jewels  of  silver  and  jewels  of  gold. 

3  And  the  Lord  gave  the  people  *>  favor  in  the  sight  of  the 
Egyptians.  Moreover,  the  man  Moses  was  very  great  c  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh's  servants  and  in  the  sight 
of  the  people. 

4  And  Moses  said,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  About  midnight  d 
will  I  go  out  into  the  midst  of  Egypt : 


b  ch.  12:  36;  Ps.  106: 
14:  3. 


c  2Sa.  7:  9;  Est.  9:  4;  Re.  3:  9.      d  Job  34:  20;  Mi.  2:  10;  Ze- 


(See  ch.  3  :  21,  22.)  The  term  here 
rendered  borrow,  is  the  word  to  ask 
— to  demand,  and  niay  mean  to  ask 
as  a  favor,  or  to  demand  as  a  right 
— and  may  include  both.  Though 
sometimes  meaning  to  borrow,  this 
is  plainly  not  the  sense  here,  as  all 
the  context  shows.  It  would  be  no 
time  to  borrow,  when  they  were  on 
the  eve  of  being  driven  out,  as  a 
riddance.  It  would  be  far  more 
likely  that,  amidst  such  terrible 
horrors  from  their  detention,  the 
Egyptians  would  gladly  give  them 
whatever  would  close  up  such  a 
series  of  judgments  on  their  ac- 
count. "  Egypt  was  glad  when  they 
departed — for  the  fear  of  them  fell 
upon  them."    (Ps.  105  :  38.) 

3.  Here  it  is  explained — Jehovah 
gate  them  favor — and  it  was  so  or- 
dered as  that  their  request  or  de- 
mand (as  it  might  be  in  any  case) 
was  granted,  and  thus  God's  prom- 
ise to  them  was  fulfilled.  (Ps.  106  ; 
46.)  Moreover — as  an  additional 
hold  which  the  Israelites  had  upon 
the  Egyptians  this  personal  fact  is 
narrated  by  Moses,  as  directed  by  in- 
spiration. And  as  Kalisch  well  re- 
marks, "  The  historian,  with  histor- 
ical faithfulness,  makes  these  re- 
marks about  his  own  person.  They 
are  historical  facts,  and  he  relates 
them  with  the  same  objective  impar- 
tiality with  which  Xenophon  speaks 
of  himself  in  the  Anabasis,  or  Cesar 
in  his  Commentaries." 

4.  Thus  Moses  said  to  Pharaoh 
in  continuation  of  the  last  chapter, 
and  after   he   had     said  that  this 


would  be  their  last  meeting — the 
first  3  verses  here  being  a  parenthe- 
sis. Murphy  says  that  "  Allowing 
a  week  for  each  of  the  previous 
plagues,  and  four  days  for  this  one, 
we  are  brought  to  the  21st  of  March 
and  perhaps  to  the  eve  of  that  night 
on  which  the  Paschal  Lamb  was 
eaten,  and  the  first  born  of  Egypt 
were  slain."  About  midnight — The 
day  is  not  named.  And  it  may 
be  there  were  some  few  days  in- 
tervening for  preparation.  T]~  Will 
I  go  out.  It  is  no  longer  a  direction 
to  Moses  to  lift  up  his  rod — but  God 
Himself  will  come  forth,  and  be 
personally  engaged  in  this  last 
plague.  First  born.  This  was  a 
blow  at  the  top.  Every  family  was 
to  be  smitten  in  its  first  born.  The 
grief  would  thus  be  most  bitter  "  as 
when  one  mourneth  for  his  first 
born."  (Zech.  12  :  10.)  The  first  born 
is  the  flower  and  crown  and 
strength  and  hone  of  the  familv, 
(Gen.  40 :  3,)  holding  the  right  of 
primogeniture — having  the  double 
position,  and  being  priest  of  the 
household,  according  to  the  an- 
cients. This  was  to  begin  with 
Pharaoh,  who  had  commanded  the 
slaughter  of  all  the  male  children 
of  the  Israelites,  and  now  must  lose 
his  own  first  born,  and  that  of  all 
his  people.  ^[  Behind  the  mill.  The 
grinding  of  grain  was  commonly 
done  in  the  household  by  female 
slaves — two  of  whom  sitting  over 
against  each  other,  turned  the  mill- 
stone by  a  handle,  each  working  it 
half  way  around.    (Isa.  47  :  1 ,  2.)    It 


94 


EXODUS. 


5  And  all  the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  die,  e  from 
the  first-born  of  Pharaoh  that  sitteth  upon  his  throne,  even  unto 
the  first-born  of  the  maid-servant  that  is  behind  the  mill  ;  and 
all  the  first-born  of  beasts. 

6  And  there  shall  be  a  great  cry  f  throughout  all  the  land 
of  Egypt,  such  as  there  was  none  like  it,  nor  shall  be  like  it  any 
more. 

7  But  against  any  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  not  a  dog 
move  his  s  tongue  against  man  or  beast  ;  that  ye  may  know 
how  that  the  Lord  doth  put  a  difference  between  the  Egyptians 
and  Israel. 

8  And  all  these  thy  servants  h  shall  come  down  unto  me, 
and  bow  down  themselves  unto  me,  saying,  get  thee  out,  and  all 
the  people  that  follow  thee :  and  after  that  I  will  go  out.  And 
he  went  out  from  Pharaoh  in  a  great  anger. 

Q  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Pharaoh  shall  not  hearken 
unto  you  ;  that  my  wonders  s  may  be  multiplied  in  the  land  of 
Egypt. 


e  Am.  4:  10.     f  ch.  12:  30;  Am.  5:  IT.      g  Jos.  10:  21.      h  ch.  12:  31, 


i  ch.  7: 


was  a  menial  and  drudging  employ- 
ment. (Matt.  24  :  40.)  The  upper 
stone  was  turned  and  the  lower  one . 
was  fixed,  and  the  grain  being 
poured  into  a  hole  in  the  centre  of 
the  upper  stone,  was  crushed. 

6.  The  wailing  should  be  so  bit- 
ter and  universal  in  Egypt — alto- 
gether without  a  parallel,  even  in 
the  time  of  the  slaughter  of  all  the 
male  children. 

7.  Here  again  is  the  designed 
and  predicted  contrast  which  marks 
the  event  as  miraculous.  Not  a 
dog.  Dogs  abound  in  the  cities  of 
the  East,  and  their  howling  at  night 
especially,  is  most  distressing  to  a 
stranger.  But  amidst  the  univer- 
sal wail  in  Egypt,  not  a  dog  should 
move  (point)  his  tongue  against  the 
Israelites.  The  expression  became 
proverbial  to  denote  the  most  en- 
tire quiet  and  immunity  from  dan- 
ger, not  a  dog  even  stirring  his 
tongue  to  give  any  alarm,  or  to  bite. 
God's  object  is  here  declared  in  this 
discriminating  dealing.  It  is  to 
show  what  difference  He  puts  be- 
tween Israel  and  the  Egyptians. 
(See  ch.  9  ;  6  ;  10  :  20.)  The  differ- 
ence was  essential — and  would  be 


more  and  more  marked — between 
the  Church  and  the  world— between 
the  righteous  and  the  wicked — be- 
tween God's  friends  and  His  foes. 
Therefore  God  demands  that  they 
be  set  free. 

8.  The  results  upon  the  people 
are  here  forewarned.  They  would 
relent  and  would  beg  for  Israel's 
departure.  Their  pride  and  obsti- 
nacy would  be  thoroughly  humbled 
— and  they  would  entreat  them  to 
go,  that  follow  thee,  lit.,  who  are  at 
thy  feet.  ^  And  after  that— when 
at  last  there  should  be  such  a  yield- 
ing and  such  an  entreaty  to  do  what 
they  had  asked  leave  to  do — to  go 
out  all  of  them  from  Egjipt— after 
that  he  says— /  trill  go  oat.  %  In  a 
great  anger,  lit.  In  a  heat  of  wrath. 
Boiling  over  with  anger,  with  a 
just  and  righteous  indignation  at 
the  monarch's  insincerity  and  cruel- 
tv,  and  leaving  with  Pharaoh  a  no- 
tice (10 :  29,)  that  this  was  the  last 
interview,  as  he  had  requested. 

9.  The  lord  said.  Bather  Je- 
hovah had  said.  Repeating  the  pre- 
warning  of  the  Almighty,  already 
given,  and  more  than  once.  Tf  That 
my  wonders.    Pharaoh's  obstinacy 


CHAPTER  XII. 


95 


10  And  Moses  and  Aaron  did  all  these  wonders  before  Pha- 
raoh :  and  the  Lord  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  so  that  he  would 
not  let  the  children  of  Israel  2:0  out  of  his  land. 


A 


CHAPTER  XII. 

XD  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  land  of 

Eg}TPt,  saying, 


gave    occasion  to   such,    display  of 
miracles. 

10.  Did  all  these  wonders.  This 
is  the  general  summing  up  at  the 
close  of  the  narrative,  a  final  state- 
ment covering,  in  brief,  the  whole 
ground.  The  term  "wonders" 
means  portents,  and  is  rendered  in 
the  Septuagint  by  two  Greek  terms 
meaning  "  Signs  and  wonders,  "  the 
same  terms  which  are  used  for 
miracles  in  the  N.  Testament. 

There  is  nothing  incredible  in  a 
miracle  if  we  believe  in  a  Divine 
Being.  The  denial  of  the  Super- 
natural as  altogether  impossible, 
results  logically  in  the   denial    of 


God  as  a  Supernatural  Being.  If 
His  existence  be  admitted,  then  a 
miracle  is  only  what  may  naturally 
be  expected  from  such  a  source,  for 
Supernatural  acts  are  natural  to  a 
Supernatural  Being.  It  is  a  poor 
shift  and  utterly  arbitrary  to  say 
that  these  records  of  the  miracu- 
lous are  only  the  embellishments 
which  the  narrative  has  received  in 
a  later  age.  This  is  the  absurdity 
of  a  "  later  age  "  pronouncing  upon 
what  is  proper  to  history. 

With  the  summary  statement  in 
these  two  verses  closes  one  chief 
section  of  the  history. 


BOOK  II. 

THE  COVEJSAKT    COtfSECKATIOK"  AND   SEAL— 
WITH  THE  DELIVERANCE.     Chs.  XII-XVIII. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

§  24.  The  Institution  of  the 
Feast  of  the  Passover.  Ch. 
XII :  vs.  1-20. 

The  historian  now  goes  back  to 
record  the  communications  of  Moses 
with  his  own  people.  We  may 
suppose  this  section  to  have  been 
thrown  in  here  in  the  history  to 
show  that  the  Passover  was  insti- 
tuted before  the  Exodus,  and  in  an- 
ticipation of  it— just  as  the  Lord's 
supper  was  instituted  before  the 
betrayal  of  our  Lord,  and  thus  be- 
came a  prophecy  of  that  event,  If 
Moses  in  the  preceding  chapter  has 


brought  the  narrative  up  to  the  14th 
Nisan,  he  here  goes  back  to  the  ear- 
ly part  of  the  month,  8th  or  9th,  at 
least,  where  these  preparatory  no- 
tices belong.  As  early  as  the  inter- 
val between  the  plague  of  hail  and 
that  of  the  locusts  and  darkness,  we 
may  suppose  this  preparatory  no- 
tice to  have  been  given.  Thus  the 
covenant  people  were  kept  advised 
of  what  was  coming  on,  and  en- 
couraged by  the  Divine  prepara- 
tions on  their  behalf.  In  the  land 
of  Egypt.  The  historian  wrote  this 
narrative  after  he  had  left  Egypt. 

2.  This  month.  The  month 
Abib,  but  called  in  later  time  ffisan, 
derived  it  is  thought  from  Nisannu, 


96 


EXODUS. 


2  This  a  month  shall  be  unto  you  the  beginning  of  months: 
it  shall  be  the  first  month  of  the  year  to  you. 

3  Speak  ye  unto  all  the  congregation  of  Israel,  saying,  In 
the  tenth  day  of  this  month  they  shall  take  to  them  every  man 
a  lamb,  according  to  the  house  of  their  fathers,  a  lamb  for  an 
house : 

4  And  if  the  household  be  too  little  for  the  lamb,  let  him 


a  ch.  13:  4;  34:  18;  De.  16:  1. 


of  tlie  Syrians  and  Babylonians, 
with  whom  it  was  the  first  month 
of  the  year.  It  is  now  to  begin 
the  ecclesiastical  year  to  mark  their 
religious  services,  as  the  month 
Tisri  had  been  the  first  month  of 
their  civil  year,  at  the  ingathering 
of  harvest,  (ch.  xxiii :  16.)  \  The 
beginning  of  months — lit.,  the  head 
or  chief  of  months.  It  answers  to 
our  middle  of  March  or  1st  of  April, 
as  Tisri  answered  to  the  middle  of 
September,  six  months  apart.  Abib 
— "  the  ear-month  " — because  the 
corn  was  in  the  ear.  The  first 
month — the  leading  month  and 
most  important  to  you  for  its 
solemn  and  precious  associations. 
Covenant  transactions,  in  which  God 
will  seal  to  us  His  covenant  prom- 
ises, make  eras  and  epochs  in  our 
history,  and  our  lives  may  well  date 
from  them.  Observe.  This  reckon 
ing  of  the  year  is  a  well  known 
fact,  continuing  down  to  the  Macca- 
bees, and  to  this  day.  And  how  else 
is  it  to  be  accounted  for  ?  Jamison 
says  "  The  establishment  of  this  new 
calendar  was  worthy  of  the  wisdom 
and  goodness  of  God,  as  it  was  cal- 
culated to  inspire  sentiments  of 
thankfulness  to  Him  by  the  pre- 
sentation of  first  fruits,  and  conse- 
quently to  withdraw  the  minds  of 
the  people  from  the  worship  of  the 
Egyptian  deities,  to  which — especial- 
ly the  great  luminaries — many  of  the 
Israelites  had  shown  themselves 
exceedingly  prone."  The  idea  here 
to  be  noticed  is  that  the  entrance 
upon  God's  covenant  and  service  is 
the  real  beginning  of  life. 

3.    All  the  congregation.      Heb. 
Kahal.     As  an  organized   body  un- 


der their  own  officers  and  leaders. 
Keil  says,  "  the  nation  represented 
by  its  elders."  (See  v.  21.)  The 
entire  body  of  the  people  was  di- 
vided into  tribes,  families  and 
fathers'  houses,  having  each  their 
respective  heads.  The  family  might 
have  in  it  several  branches  or  di- 
visions, called  father's  houses,  or 
the  households  severally.  Kurtz, 
however,  understands  fathers'  house 
as  equivalent  to  a  tribe.  In  v.  21, 
the  larger  family  term  is  used. 
T[  In  the  tenth  day.  The  lamb  was 
to  be  chosen  out  of  the  flock  on  that 
day.  We  may  suppose  that  the 
plague  of  darkness  lasted  from  the 
tenth  to  the  fourteenth.  Four  days 
before  the  slaying  of  the  lamb  it 
was  to  be  selected  to  ensure  due 
care  in  the  preparation.  ^[  A  lamb, 
lit.,  a  young  one — of  sheep  or  goats. 
For  an  house — for  the  household, 
that  is,  for  each  several  household 
circle.  God's  covenant  is  an  house- 
hold covenant,  and  the  seals  are 
household  seals.  And  it  has  been 
His  gracious  plan  in  all  the  ages  to 
propagate  His  Church  by  means  of 
a  pious  posterity.  He  has  a  heart 
for  the  children,  and  seats  at  His 
table  for  the  little  ones.  Jesus  was 
a  child,  to  compass  the  children 
with  His  provisions  of  grace,  and 
He  said,  "  Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  Me,  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  Though  the 
whole  race  is.  lost  by  the  fall,  yet 
there  is  ample  provision  for  the 
children  in  the  covenant  of  grace. 
The  gracious  responsibility  is  here 
devolved  upon  the  father.  TUcery 
man  a  lamb. 

4.  If— too  little,  lit.,  small  (from, 


CHAPTER  XII. 


97 


and  his  neighbor  next  unto  his  house  take  it  according  to  the 
number  of  the  souls:  every  man,  according  to  his  eating,  shall 
make  your  count  for  the  lamb. 

5  Your  lamb  shall  be  b  without  blemish,  a  male  of  the  first 
year;  ye  shall  take  it  out  from  the  sheep,  or  from  the  goats: 

6  And  ye  shall  keep  it  up  until  the  c  fourteenth  day  of  the 
same  month  :  and  the  whole  assembly  of  the  congregation  of 
Israel  shall  kill  d  it  in  the  evening. 


b  Le.  22:  19-21;  De.  11 
16:  1,  6.         d  ch.  16:  12. 


1;  Mai.  1:  8,  14;   IPe.  1:  19.        c  Le.  23:  5;  Nu.  9:  3;  28:  16;  De 


or  more  than)  smaller  than  a  lamb. 
In  case  there  was  a  very  small 
household,  then  they  were  to  join 
with  a  next  neighbor.  "Let  him 
and  his  nearest  neighbor  against  his 
house  take  (a  lamb)  according  to  the 
reckoning  of  the  (souls)  persons. 
Every  man  according  to  the  mouth 
(measure  of)  his  eating ,  shall  ye 
reckon  for  the  lamb,  estimating  that 
is,  how  much  each  might  be  fairly 
expected  to  eat.  In  later  time-  it 
became  customary  to  reckon  ten 
persons,  at  least,  for  a  lamb,  and 
tradition  has  it  that  they  were  ex- 
pected to  eat  as  much  in  size  as  an 
olive.  But  it  was  the  law  that  the 
lamb  should  be  entirely  consumed. 
5.  The  strict  and  significant  re- 
quirements are  now  announced. 
Tf  Without  blemish.  This  was  a 
requisite  in  the  offering — and  it  was 
typical  of  Christ — "  Who  did  no 
sin,  etc."  "  Holy,  harmless  unde- 
nted and  separate  from  sinners." 
(Heb.)  Any  defect  or  deformity 
would  spoil  it  for  a  sacrifice,  but 
especially  for  this  paschal  offering 
(see  Levit,  22  :  20.)  A  male.  This 
also  represented  Christ.  And  here 
the  lamb  was  to  be  a  substitute,  in 
the  typical  transaction  for  the  first 
born.  The  burnt  offerings  were  to 
be  males.  (Lev.  1 :  3,  It.)  See 
Matt.  1  :  14.  A  year  old,  lit.,  the 
son  of  a  year — "  because  it  was  not 
till  then  that  it  reached  the  full, 
fresh  vigor  of  its  life."  Keil — "  at 
the  age  when  its  flesh  was  most 
tender  and  grateful,"  and  because 
during  that  period  it  retains  its 
lamb-like   humbleness  and    simpli- 

VOL.    T.— 5. 


city."  Bush — "  This  rather  refers 
to  the  condition  of  perfect  innocence 
in  the  antitype  —  the  Lamb  of 
God."  Tf  From  the  sheep,  or  from 
the  goats.  A  kid  was  allowable,  if 
no  sheep  was  had.  But  the  sheep 
was  judged  preferable.  As  typical 
of  Christ,  we  understand  this  dis- 
tinction. 

6.  Keep  it  up — i.  e.,  shall  keep  it 
in  charge.  Heb.  implies  careful 
keeping,  lit.,  It  shall  be  to  you  for 
preservation,  ^f  Until  the  four- 
teenth day.  Some-  suppose  that  our 
Lord  died  on  the  day  of  the  regular 
passover,  thereby  completing  the 
antitypical  transaction.  But  it  is 
more  commonly  supposed  that  He 
ate  the  regular  Passover  with  His 
disciples,  and  died  the  next  day. 
■f  The  whole  assembly — not  that  the 
whole  body  of  the  people  should 
kill  each  lamb.  But  that  all  should 
at  the  same  time,  participate  in  the 
killing,  by  taking  part  some  at  one 
home  and  some  at  another,  for 
every  Israelite  must  keep  the  feast 
on  pain  of  excommunication  for 
neglect.  In  the  evening.  Heb. 
between  the  two  evenings.  Some  un- 
derstand this  to  be  between  3  o'clock 
and  sunset.  Our  Lord  was  slain  at 
3  o'clock — the  ninth  hour.  Keil  and 
others  understand  it  to  mean  at 
sunset.  (Num.9:  3,  5,  11.  Deut. 
16  :  5.)  "  In  the  evening  as  soon  as 
the  sun  goes  down."  Keil  says  that 
although  the  Israelites  reckoned 
the  day  of  21  hours  from  sunset  to 
sunset,  yet  in  numbering  the  days 
they  followed  the  natural  day,  and 
numbered  each  day  according  to  the 


98 


EXODUS. 


7  And  they  shall  take  of  the  blood,  and  strike  it  on  the  two 
side-posts  and  on  the  upper  door-post  of  the  houses  wherein  they 
shall  eat  it. 


period  between  sunrise  and  sunset. 
And  in  proof  of  this  he  cites  the 
fast  prescribed  for  the  day  of  Atone- 
ment, which  fell  upon  the  10th  day 
of  the  7th  month,  and  yet  it  was  or- 
dered to  commence  on  the  evening 
of  the  9th  day,  from  even  to  even. 
(See  Vol.  2,  Pent.  p.  12.)  This  then, 
would  go  far  to  explain  the  differ- 
ence about  the  time  of  the  Passover 
and  Crucifixion,  as  given  by  John. 
The  term  of  the  Paschal  meal  was 
limited  in  the  ritual  by  the  mid- 
night and  morning.  Part  of  the 
Paschal  ceremonies  fell  on  the  14th 
and  part  on  the  15th,  and  so  the 
Evangelists  may  locate  it  on  differ- 
ent days,  from  different  points  of 
view.  Therefore,  though  the  lamb 
■was  slain  on  Thursday  evening,  the 
Passover  would  not  be  eaten  and 
concluded  before  the  Friday  morn- 
ing, that  is,  during  the  night  follow- 
ing Thursday.  (And  in  addition  to 
this  it  is  maintained  that  the  phrase 
to  eat  the  Passover,  includes  the 
keeping  of  the  festival  throughout, 
and  beyond  the  Paschal  meal,  (see 
v.  48).  In  ch.  12  :  18,  the  command 
is  that  unleavened  bread  should  be 
eaten  from  the  14th  day  of  the 
month  at  even  until  the  21st  at 
even — while  in  Levit.  23  :  6,  we 
read — "  from  the  fifteenth  ye  are  to 
eat  unleavened  bread  seven  days." 
Lange  suggests,  that  "  since  Christ 
desired  to  develop  the  Passover 
into  the  New  Testament  form  of 
the  Supper,  it  was  quite  significant 
that  He  so  ordered  the  feast  that 
the  Passover  itself  took  place  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  the  15th 
Nisan,  and  only  the  Supper  fell  in- 
to the  full  feast.  Therefore  He 
came  early  into  Jerusalem  with  the 
disciples  and  commanded  the  cele- 
bration before  the  turning  point  of 
the  two  days,  that  is,  before  0  o'clock 
on  the  evening  of  the  14th  Nisan. 
So  early  was  it  that  the  conclusion 
of    the   Paschal  feast,   or  original 


Agape,  wras  reached  before  six 
o'clock,  or,  at  all  events,  just  about 
that  hour.  Sanday  says  "  the  Pas- 
chal Supper  was  to  be  eaten  before 
the  morning  time  following  the 
14th  Nisan,  which  would  .be  our 
Friday — but  really  on  the  loth 
Nisan,  Jewish — but  not  Saturday. 
He  thinks  the  confusion  arises 
from  confounding  the  Julian  and 
Jewish  day. — Notes  on  John.  Kurtz 
says  the  lamb  could  not  possibly 
have  been  slain  before  the  sunset 
"  as  soon  as  the  sun  goes  down." 
(This  would  be  sunset  of  the  14th, 
but  strictly  the  beginning  of  the 
15th.  The  lamb  was  to  be  roasted 
and  eaten  before  the  morning  of  the 
15th,  and  Jesus  died  at  evening  of 
the  same  day.  But  it  happened  in 
the  rush  and  bustle  of  Christ's  ar- 
raignment and  trial,  that  some  of 
the  Jews,  as  late  as  early  dawn, had 
not  yet  eaten  the  Passover.  But 
they  overrode  all  their  customary 
rules  on  that  occasion.)  Kurtz  adds  : 
We  learn  from  comparison  of  pas- 
sages that  agreeably  to  its  natural 
character,  the  first  evening  (i.  e.,  the 
time  of  evening  twilight)  could,  be 
regarded  as  either  the  termination 
of  one  day  or  the  commencement  of 
another." 

7.  Take  of  the  blood.  Blood  is 
the  standing  symbol  of  expiation, 
in  reference  to  the  great  blood- 
shedding  of  Christ.  And  it  was 
ordained,  "  Without  shedding  of 
blood  is  no  remission."  StiHke  it, 
lit.,  Put  it — place  it — on  the  two 
posts.  Some  have  thought  that  this 
referred  to  tents.  But  doorposts 
and  lintel  would  rather  refer  to 
fixed  dwellings,  and  these  would  be 
the  places  where  the  blood-marks 
would  most  conspicuously  appear 
to  all  passers-by,  and  mark  the 
house  with  this  sign  or  token  of  the 
sacrifice.  Right  and  left,  aud  Over- 
head, to  all  that  entered  in,  the 
blood  mark    would    appear.      Only 


CHAPTER  XII. 


8  And  they  shall  eat  the  flesh  in  that  night,  roast  with  fire, 
and  e  unleavened  bread,  and  with  bitter  herbs  they  shall  eat  it. 

9  Eat  not  of  it  raw,  nor  sodden  at  all  with  water,  but  roast 
with  fire  ;  his  head  with  his  legs,  and  with  the  purtenance 
thereof. 

10  And  ye  shall  let  nothing  of  it f  remain  until  the  morning; 
and  that  which  remaineth  of  it  until  the  morning  ye  shall  burn 
with  lire. 

1 1  And  thus  shall  ye  eat  it :  With  your  loins  girded,  your 
shoes  on  your  feet,  and  your  staff  in  your  hand;  and  ye  shall 
eat  it  in  haste :  it  is  the  Lord's  passover. 


e  ch.  34:25;  De.  16:3;  ICo.  5: 


f  ch.  23:  18. 


not  on  the  threshold  to  be  tramp- 
led under  foot.  It  was  an  appoint- 
ed covenant  sign  to  Israel  of  deliv- 
erance from  the  destroyer. 

8,  9.  In  that  night.  The  night 
following  the  14th  day,  and  accord- 
ing to  Jewish  reckoning,  the  begin- 
ning of  the  15th.  As  slaying  the 
lamb  was  the  substitutionary,  sacri- 
ficial act  which  denoted  the  giving 
of  a  life  instead  of  the  offerer's  own, 
so  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  was 
the  symbol  of  applied  atonement. 
The  offerer's  own  act  indicated  thus 
his  acceptance  of  the  pardon  and  re- 
demption purchased  by  the  blood  of 
Christ — the  antitype— and  that  for 
himself  not  only,  but  also  for  his 
household.  "  It  was  commonly 
reckoned  from  sunset  to  sunrise." 
Roast  icith  fire.  Fire  was  a  symbol 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  purifying 
agent.  "He  shall  baptize  you  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire." 
(Matt.  3 :  11.)  Cloven  tongues,  iike 
as  of  fire:'  (Acts  2 :  3.)  "  He  is 
like  a  refiner's  fire."  (Mai.  3  :  2.) 
And  unleavened  bread  with  (on) 
bitter  herbs,  shall  they  eat  it.  Ob- 
serve,— It  was  to  be  roasted  not  be- 
cause of  the  haste,  but  "so  as  to  re- 
tain its  entireness  and  its  strength 
and  substance,  thus  showing  forth 
the  fulness  and  perfectness  of  the 
sacrifice  and  the  salvation.  Herein 
this  difiered  from  all  the  other  sac- 
rifices. None  of  it  was  to  be  eaten 
underdone,  nor  raw  nor  sodden, 
(seethed  or  boiled)  in  water  where- 
by    the     substance      would     more 


or  less  be  lost,  and  the  mass  dis- 
solved. But  in  the  entirety  of  the 
animal,  head  and  legs,  and  thus  a 
perfect  whole,  not  at  all  mutilated. 
The  whole  Christ  and  the  whole 
Church  are  denoted.  Num.  9  :  12, 
vs.  34  :  20,  1  Cor.  5  :  7, 10  ;  17.  The 
unleavened  bread  denoted  the  ab- 
sence of  corruption,  as  leaven  is  the 
souring  and  corruption,  or  spoiling 
element  of  the  mass.  The  bitter 
herbs  pointed  to  the  tribulations  of 
the  occasion.  These  herbs  and 
bread  were  to  be  the  basis  of  the 
meal. 

10.  Until  the  morning.  The 
meal  was  to  be  eaten  between  the 
sunset  and  the  daydawn.  It  was 
for  this  use  alone,  and  for  none 
other,  in  any  part  or  atom  of  H. 
Therefore,  any  remnant  of  it,  wifl 
to  be  burnt  with  fire,  if  it  was  not 
practicable  to  eat  it  all.  The  Pass- 
over was  different  from  all  other 
sacrifices — in  this  that  it  was  to  be 
for  the  people's  consumption,  first 
of  all  and  chief  of  all — partaken  as 
a  whole  by  them,  and  wholly  by 
them,  and  thus  entering  wholly  in- 
to them  for  substance.  (1)  It  was  a 
social  family  meal.  (2)  It  was  eu- 
charistic.  (3)  It  was  expiatory. 
The  atonement  and  the  salvation 
were  to  be  held  as  all-sufficient,  but 
with  no  surplus,  to  be  thrown  away 
or  devoted  to  any  other  use. 

11.  Thus.  Special  directions  are 
given  as  to  the  manner  of  eating 
and  their  equipment  for  the  meals. 
Loins  girded,  for  action,  the  long, 


100 


EXODUS. 


12  Fori  will  pass  through  the  land  of  Egypt  this  night,  and 
will  smite  all  the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  both  man  and 
beast;  and  against  all  the  gods  of  Egypt  s  I  will  execute  judg- 
ment: I  am  the  Lokd. 

13  And  the  blood  shall  be  to  you  for  a  token  upon  the  houses 


ch.  12: 


Ps.  106:  46. 


flowing  robe  tucked  up  and  fastened 
about  tbe  loins  by  the  girdle,  so  as 
to  be  fitted  to  march  without  any 
impediment  of  the  clothing,  and 
braced  by  the  girdle.  Shoes — san- 
dals on  your  feet,  so  as  to  be  shod 
for  rough  roads.  Staff,  such  as  they 
use  on  journeys  for  walking  a  dis- 
tance. God  would  open  the  way  for 
them  ;  but  they  must  do  the  march- 
ing, each  for  himself.  Our  agency 
is  requisite  in  our  salvation,  and  all 
Christ's  finished  work,  free  as  its 
benefits  are,  is  nothing  if  we  do  not 
apply  it  by  sprinkling  the  blood 
upon  our  doorways,  and  if  we  do 
not  march  out  of  our  bondage. 
^  In  haste,  In  anxious  plight. — Keil. 
These  directions  applied  only  to  the 
original  passover  in  Egypt,  and  not 
to  after  celebrations-;  but  they  have 
typical  significance.  Every  believer 
must  stand  habitually  in  readiness 
for  action.  "  That  the  man  of  God 
may  be  perfect"  The  term  means 
ready  (2  Tim  3: 1 7).  In  the  attitude 
not  of  loiterers  but  of  travellers  and 
of  workers,  and  of  those  who  are 
expectants  of  orders  to  move  at  any 
moment.  This  is  the  attitude  of  the 
apostles —  Watching  !  "  The  day  of 
the  Lord  cometh  !  "  "Looking  for 
and  hasting "  the  coming  !  They 
were  not  ignorant  nor  mistaken  nor 
deceived  by  false  expectations. 
They  were  waiting  and  ready  for 
the  orders  from  headquarters  at  any 
moment.  In  v.  3  they  were  notified 
to  be  ready.  *[  The  Lord's  passover 
to  Jehovah.  This  declaration  gives 
dignity  and  significance  to  the  whole 
transaction.  It  is  an  ordinance  of 
Jehovah,  and  the  term  by  which  it 
is  called  passover  means  not  only  to 
pass  over  in  the  way  of  sparing  the 
people,  but  also  as  a  bird  with  out- 
stretched wings,  protecting  the  peo- 


ple of  Israel.  In  Egyj)tian  the  word 
means  to  spread  the  wings  over  for 
protection.  Keil  says,  "As  birds 
flying  so  will  the  Lord  of  hosts 
defend  Jerusalem  ;  defending,  also 
He  will  deliver  it,  and  passing  over, 
He  will  preserve  it."  The  term  is 
explained  in  the  next  verses.  For 
I  will  pass  through  this  night.  That 
is  the  same  night  on  which  they 
were  to  eat  the  passover.  They  who 
will  find  fault  with  the  narrative, 
and  call  it  unhistorical,  demand  that 
this  night  is  to  be  understood  as 
meaning  the  night  on  which  Jeho- 
vah speaks.  But  in  Hebrew  the 
pronoun  refers  always  to  that  which 
is  already  spoken  of.  And  here  it 
points  to  the  night  following  the 
fourteenth  of  the  month,  at  least  a 
week  after  this  was  spoken.  %  Will 
smite,  etc.  This  was  to  be  God's 
direct  act,  which  made  this  plague 
the  concentration  of  all  the  fore- 
going. It  was  God's  redemption  of 
His  own  first-born.  Against  all 
the  gods  of  -Egypt.  Calvin  explains 
this,  "  that  it  was  most  appar- 
ent then  how  little  help  was  to 
be  found  in  these  false  gods,  and 
how  fallacious  was  their  worship." 
It  may  mean  that  in  smiting  the 
first-born  of  beasts  God  would  smite 
the  objects  of  Egyptian  worship. 
The  worship  of  animals  was  uni- 
versal ;  the  bull  and  cow  and  goat 
and  ram  and  cat  were  worshipped 
throughout  Egypt.  The  rabbins 
understood  it  that  every  temple  and 
idol  was  destroyed  by  earthquake 
or  lightning  ;  but  Moses'  Egyptian 
learning  is  manifest  in  this  record, 
which  would  not  have  occurred  to  a 
stranger  in  Egypt. 

13.  The  blood-mark  would  sure 
ly  be  recognized  as  a  sacramental 
sign  to  them — a  pledge  of  mercy — 


CHAPTER  XTI. 


101 


where  ye  are :  and  when  I  see  the  blood  I  will  pass  over  you, 
and  the  plague  shall  not  be  upon  you  to  destroy  you  when  I 
smite  the  land  of  Egypt. 

14  And  this  day  shall  be  unto  you  for  a  memorial;  and  ye 
shall  keep  it  a  h  feast  to  the  Lord  throughout  your  generations  ; 
ye  shall  keep  it  a  feast  by  an  ordinance  for  ever. 

15  Seven  days  *  shall  ye  eat  unleavened  bread  ;  even  the  first 


h  Le.  33:  4,  5;  2Ki.  23:  21;  ICo.  5:  8. 


i  ch.  13:  6,  &c. :  Nu.  28:  17. 


marking  the  house  on  which  it  was, 
for  the  sparing  mercy  of  God. 
\  When  I  see  the  blood.  Not  when 
I  see  you,  but  when  I  see  the  "blood, 
for  the  blood  was  the  controlling 
sign,  as  it  was  the  token  of  expia- 
tion, and  all  the  merit  lay  in  the 
sacrifice,  and  not  in  them.  (2) 
Though  it  was  at  midnight  that  the 
destroying  angel  would  pass 
through,  He  would  see  the  blood - 
mark,  however  dim  it  was,  and 
however  dark  the  night  might  be. 
"  He  is  faithful  that  promised."  He 
overlooks  nothing  that  His  grace 
can  find. 

14.  This  day.  The  fourteenth — 
referred  to — the  Paschal  day — 
though  the  feast  was  eaten  at  night 
following,  yet  the  lamb  was  slain 
on  the  14th.  For  a  memorial.  A 
day  of  commemorative  ordinance 
in  which  their  redemption  was  to 
be  called  to  mind,  while  it  was  to 
be  also  for  a  reminder  to  God  in 
this  sacramental  seal  of  His  cove- 
nant. "  This  do  in  remembrance  of 
me."  —  eiQ  rrjv  avafivTjGiv  efiov — for 
my  reminding  or  remembrance.  It 
was  to  be  kept  throughout  your 
(Jewish)  generations  forever — that 
it  was  to  be  of  perpetual  obliga- 
tion. It  was  a  feast,  also,  not  a 
fast.  Some  look  upon  the  New- 
Testament  paschal  feast  as  a 
gloomy,  repulsive  ordinance,  and 
more  like  a  fast.  But  no,  we  are 
banqueted  there  upon  the  provisions 
which  He  has  purchased  with  His 
blood.  We  should  come  with  ho- 
sannas,  and  feed  upon  Christ,  and 
feel  ourselves  richly  feasted. 

"A  wondrous  feast  His  love  prepares 
Bought  with  His  wounds  and  groans  and 
tears." 


Keil  says  "The  Passover  was  a 
sacrifice  which  combined  in  itself 
the  signification  of  the  future  sin- 
offerings  and  peace  offerings."  It 
was  eucharistic  as  a  social  meal, 
and  it  was  expiatory  as  a  sin  offer- 
ing. We  should  therefore  come 
with  joy.  The  feast  is  spread  for 
us,  aud  entirely  of  His  providing. 
"In  the  meal,"  says  Keil,  the  sacri~ 
ficium,  became  a  sacramentum,  the 
flesh  of  the  sacrifice  a  means  of 
grace  by  which  the  Lord  adopted 
His  spared  and  redeemed  people, 
into  the  fellowship  of  His  house, 
and  gave  them  food  for  the  refresh- 
ing of  their  souls."  It  is  to  be  re- 
marked here  that  this  ordinance 
was  most  important  to  be  establish- 
ed at  that  very  time — as  notifying 
Israel  on  their  leaving  Egypt  to 
what  they  were  called,  that  their 
deliverance  was  nothing  little  or  in- 
significant in  the  eye  of  God — as  its 
celebration  was  to  be  commemorated 
even  to  the  most  distant  genera- 
tions, the  people  must  have  seen  in 
that  an  indication  of  the  great  des- 
tiny which  the  Lord  had  in  view 
for  them  at  that  moment,  and  their 
gaze  was  elevated  from  the  pres- 
ent to  the  future."  .  Havemick's 
Int.  251.  Further,  the  directions 
for  eating  the  meal  in  the  houses, 
show  that  it  was  at  a  time  when  as 
yet  they  had  no  sanctuary.  And 
so  every  particular  agrees  with  the 
circumstances  and  shows  it  to  be 
historical. 

§  24.  Institution  of  the  Feast 
of  Unleavened  Bread.  Ch. 
XII:  15-20. 

15.  Seven  days.    This  was  a  feast 


102 


EXODUS. 


day  ye  shall  put  away  leaven  out  of  your  houses:  for  whosoever 
eateth  leavened  bread  from  the  first  day  until  the  seventh  day,k 
that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  Israel. 

16  And  in  the  first  day  there-shall  be  an  holy  l  convocation, 
and  in  the  seventh  day  there  shall  be  an  holy  convocation  to 
you  ;  no  manner  of  work  shall  be  done  in  them,  save  that  which 
every  man  must  eat,  that  only  may  be  done  of  you. 

17  And  ye  shall  observe  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread;  for 
in  this  self-same  day  have  I  brought  your  armies  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt :  therefore  shall  ye  observe  this  day  in  your  generations 
by  an  ordinance  for  ever. 

18  In  the  first  month,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month  at 


k  Nu.  9:  13. 


1  Nu.  29:  12. 


connected  with  the  Passover,  be- 
ginning at  the  close  of  the  Paschal 
supper.  The  seven  days'  time  is  ac- 
counted for  by  some  as  commemo- 
rating the  haste  in  which  they  were 
moving,  so  that  they  would  be 
obliged  to  eat  without  leaven  till 
they  crossed  the  Red  Sea,  one  week, 
(v.  39.)  But  a  better  reason  is  a 
more  sacred  one  and  more  pertain- 
ing to  the  ritual.  It  was  in  order 
that  the  feast  should  include  a 
Sabbath  and  thus  take  in  the  whole 
cycle  of  the  week,  in  accordance 
with  the  Sabbath  feature  of  the 
ritual.  Supposing  the  Sabbath  to 
have  been  already  instituted,  as  we 
believe,  and  known  from  the  begin- 
ning, this  is  the  better  explanation. 
•Jf  Even  (only)  the  first  day  (that  is 
not  later  than  the  first  day,)  (the  14th 
at  even  (v.  18)  Ye  shall  put  away 
leaven,  etc.  In  the  Corinthians 
Paul  explains  this  feature  and 
shows  the  symbolical  meaning  of  it. 
(1  Cor.  5  :  7.  See  also  Luke  12  :  1.) 
"  Unleavened  bread  "  is  the  type  of 
holy  fervor  and  pure,  pious  living, 
without  the  principle  of  corruption 
at  work  within.  The  new  life  was 
thus  symbolized,  as  cleansed  from 
the  leaven  of  a  sinful  nature. 
"  Therefore,  (says  Paul)  let  us  keep 
the  (paschal)  feast,  not  with  old. 
leaven,  neither  with  the  leaven  of 
malice  and  wickedness,  but  with 
the  unleavened  bread  of  sincerity 
and    truth."      %  Whosoever.      The 


violation  of  this  law  was  a  capital 
offence.  That  sold — that  person 
shall  be  cut  off — excommunicated 
from  the  covenant  membership,  and 
the  privileges  of  Israel. 

16.  Holy  convocation — a  sacred 
assembly  for  religious  worship,  in 
prayer  and  praise,  and  perhaps  also 
reading  of  the  scripture  and  remark, 
as  it  came  to  be  afterwards  in  the 
synagogue.  -This  public  religious 
gathering  and  service  were  to  be 
on  the  first  day  and  the  seventh, 
making  the  beginning  and  close  of 
the  festival  Sabbatic.  The  prepara 
tion  of  necessary  food  was  allowed, 
as  it  was  not  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
the  day  of  Atonement.  (Exod.  eh. 
16  :  28,  24.)  There  were  seven  such 
Sabbatic  days  in  the  year  besides 
the  seventh-day  Sabbath — the  first 
and  last  days  of  unleavened  bread, 
and  of  the  feast  of  Tabernacles,  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  the  first  day  of 
the  seventh  month  and  the  day  of 
Atonement  (see  Levit.  23  ;  Numb. 
28,  29).  The  term  for  convocation 
is  derived  in  Hebrew,  as  in  Latin, 
from  the  verb  to  call.  So  is  ecclesia 
in  the  Greek,  but  further  meaning 
"  called  out  from." 

17.  The  reason  for  the  observance 
is  here  given :  Have  1  brought.  That 
which  had  not  yet  come  to  pass 
is  stated  to  be  the  ground  for  this 
religious  observance,  so  that  the 
transaction  is  prophetic  and  promis- 
sory.    So  also  "  the  Lord's  supper  " 


CHAPTER  XII. 


103 


even,  ye  shall  eat  unleavened  bread,  until  the  one  and  twentieth 
day  of  the  month  at  even. 

1 9  Seven  days  shall  there  be  no  m  leaven  found  in  your  houses; 
for  whosoever  eateth  that  which  is  leavened,  even  that  soul 
shall  be  cut  off  from  the  congregation  of  Israel,  whether  he  be 
a  stranger,  or  born  in  the  land. 

20  Ye  shall  eat  nothing  leavened;  in  all  your  habitations 
shall  ye  eat  unleavened  bread. 

21  Then  Moses  called  for  all  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  said 
unto  them,  Draw  out  and  take  you  a  lamb  according  to  your 
families,  and  kill  the  n  passover. 

22  And  ye  shall  take  a  bunch  of  hyssop,  and  dip  it  in  the 
blood  that  is  in  the  basin,  and   strike  o  the  lintel  and  the  two 

m  ch.  23:  15;  34:  18;  De.  16:  3.      n  Jos.  5:  10;  2tfi.  23:  21;  Ezr.  0:  20;  Mat.  26:  18; 
Mar.  14:  12;  Lu.  22:  T,  &c.        o  Le.  14:  6,  7;  Ps.  51:  7;  He.  9:  19;  11:  28. 


was  instituted  as  a  memorial  of  what 
had  not  yet  come  to  pass,  and  was  in 
so  far  prophetic. 

18.  A  more  precise  statement  of 
v.  15. 

19.  A  restatement  of  v.  15,  last 
clause.  A  stranger.  These  were 
afterwards  distinguished  as  of  two 
classes,  proselytes  of  righteousness, 
circumcised,  and  proselytes  of  the 
gate,  uncircumcised,  but  who  ac- 
knowledged the  God  of  Israel  and 
the  Xoachic  precepts.  But  no  for- 
eigner could  eat  of  the  passover 
unless  he  had  been  circumcised, 
and  had  thus  the  badge  of  member- 
ship. Bom  in  the  land.  Native 
of  the  country,  a  native  Israelite, 
descended  from  Isaac  and  Jacob,  to 
whom  birth  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  property  in  the  soil,  were  vital 
matters  of  God's  covenant.  "  One 
'  born  in  the  land,'  therefore,  was 
indigenous,  belonging  to  the  country 
by  virtue  of  descent,,  that  descent 
being  reckoned  from  Abraham,  to 
whom  Canaan  was  promised  as  a 
perpetual  inheritance." — Sp.  Com. 
JSot  a  Hebrew  born  in  Egypt  (as  Ja- 
mieson  thinks),  as  a  stranger  might 
be  born  in  Egypt. 

20.  The  prohibition  of  leaven 
is  here  again  repeated.  "  To  eat 
leavened  bread  at  this  feast  would 
have  been  a  denial  of  the  divine  act 
by  which    Israel    was    introduced 


into  the  new  life  of  fellowship  with 
Jehovah." — Murphy.  In  all  your 
habitations,  as  well  as  in  the  public 
service  of  the  sanctuary  during  the 
feast.  We  are  bound  to  be  pious 
and  devout  at  home  as  well  as  in 
the  house  of  God. 

§35.  Jehovah's  Passovee.  Ch.  XII : 
21-30. 

21.  Moses,  having  now  recited 
the  Divine  directions,  records  also 
the  leading  items  in  his  instructions 
to  the  elders  of  the  people.  The 
elders  were  officers  in  the  church, 
and  have  continued  to  be  such. 
*[  Draw  out.  Take  out — separate 
from  the  fold  and  take,  etc.  It  has 
been  objected  that  there  was  not 
time  for  these  orders  to  be  duly 
published  ;  but  it  is  assumed  erro- 
neously that  there  were  only  twelve 
hours,  as  if  these  orders  had  been 
given  on  the  last  day.  But  as  the 
lamb  was  to  be  taken  from  the  fold 
on  the  tenth,  these  orders  were 
published  before  that  day,  and 
hence  four,  five  or  more  days  would 
remain.  A  lamb  according  to  your 
families,  that  is,  a  lamb  for  each 
family  (as  many  lambs  as  families), 
and  kill  the  passover — the  passover 
lamb  selected. 

22.  Hyssop.  Here  follows  a  di- 
rection   for  sprinkling   the    blood. 


104 


EXODUS. 


side-posts  with  the  blood  that  is  in  the  basin;  and  none  of  jon 
shall  go  out  at  the  door  of  his  house  until  the  morning. 

23  For  the  Lord  will  pass  through  to  smite  the  Egyptians ; 
and  when  he  seeth  the  blood  p  upon  the  lintel,  and  on  the 
two  side-posts,  the  Lord  will  pass  over  the  door,  and  ft  will 
not  suffer  the  destroyer  to  come  in  unto  your  houses  to  smite 
you. 


p  He.  12: 


q  2Sa.  24:  16;  Eze.  9:  4-6;  Re.  7:  3;  9:  4. 


There  were  different  species  of  this 
plant,  but  well  adapted  for  this  use 
— a  bunch — of  several  stalks.  The 
process  was  to  dip  the  hyssop  in  the 
blood  (of  the  animal)  which  was  in 
the  basin,  and  then  apply  the  blood 
as  directed.  It  has  been  insisted 
that  as  baptism  has  a  meaning  from 
the  root  bap  —  to  dip  —  therefore, 
the  subject  must  be  dipped.  But 
throughout  the  ritual,  the  dipping 
is  of  the  instrument  by  which  the 
sprinkling  or  baptizing  is  done.  Bap- 
tise is  not  to  dip ;  but  to  dippize,  or 
to  apply  the  element  to  the  person 
by  the  article  dipped,  not  by  dipping 
the  person  in  the  element.  So  we 
never  read  of  immersing  one  in  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Else  we  must  make 
the  immersion  to  be  in  the  blood  of 
Christ ;  and  this  is  no  longer  the  idea 
of  Baptism,  which  refers  not  to  jus- 
tification, but  to  sanctifi cation.  This 
is  the  essential  idea  in  sprinkling. 
When  the  soldiers  filled  a  sponge 
with  vinegar  and  put  it  upon  hyssop 
and  gave  our  crucified  Lord  to  drink, 
they  were  unconsciously  using  the 
passover  instrument  here  mention- 
ed. (Lev.  14 :  51  }  Numb.  19 :  18.) 
The  hyssop  was  used  in  ordinary 
purifications  to  sprinkle  the  blood. 
It  had  thus  a  symbolical  significance. 
"Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall 
be  clean." — Ps.  51. 

None  of  you.  This  was  to  pre- 
vent the  Israelites  being,  in  any 
way,  mixed  with  the  Egyptians, 
where  the  most  entire  separation 
was  to  be  carried  out,  and  also,  to 
prevent  any  suspicion  of  their  being 
agents  in  the  terrible  destruction  ; 
and  further,  as  there  was  no  safety 
to  any  one  except  behind  a  blood- 


stained door;  and  as  the  house  was 
consecrated  by  the  blood-mark,  this 
was  their  great  security.  Hence 
they  must  abide  in  the  place. 

23.  Moses  here  repeated  the  or- 
der given  him  by  God.  The  paschal 
blood  was  the  saving  mark  for  those 
Israelites  who  would  so  use  it.  It 
must  be  understood  that  as  it  is 
Jehovah's  Passover  and  altogether 
a  plan  of  grace,  so  He  has  the  sov- 
ereign right  to  prescribe  the  terms 
of  tlie  salvation.  And  these  are  in 
no  wise  conditions,  in  the  sense  of 
a  bargain,  but  provisions  for  our  ac- 
ceptance— and  only  such  as  are  nat- 
ural and  necessary  in  the  case  to 
carry  out  the  objects,  and  so  these 
constitute  the  condition  of  things 
in  which  the  benefits  are  to  be  be- 
stowed. 

When  He  seeth  the  blood.  The 
Redemption  mark  is  the  signal  for 
deliverance.  (1)  It  is  not  our  blood 
but  the  blood  of  the  slain  Lamb. 
(2)  It  must  be  accepted  by  us  for  a 
token  and  so  applied  by  us  as  to  in- 
dicate our  acceptance  of  all  the  pro- 
visions. (3)  It  must  be  openly  and 
publicly  put  forward  as  the  shield 
and  refuge  under  which  we  live. 
(4)  It  must  be  posted  on  our  dwell- 
ings, as  for  ourselves,  and  our 
households  in  all  our  living.  (5) 
We  are  not  to  reason  against  the 
provisions  for  they  are  all  of  grace. 
(6)  Our  great  business  is  to  be  sure 
that  we  embrace  the  gospel  provis- 
ions, and  our  question  must  be  not 
as  to  the  merit  of  our  frames  and  ex- 
ercises, but  as  to  the  fact  of  Christ's 
blood-shedding  and  our  open  and 
avowed  acceptance  and  application 
of  it  to  our  case  in  all  our  living 


CHAPTER  XII. 


105 


24  And  ye  shall  observe  this  thing  for  an  ordinance  to  thee 
and  to  thy  sons  for  ever. 

25  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  ye  be  come  to  the  land 
which  the  Lord  will  give  you,  according  as  he  hath  promised, 
that  ye  shall  keep  this  service. 

26  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  your  children  shall  say 
unto  you,  r  What  mean  ye  by  this  service  ? 


r  ch.  13:  8-14:  De.  32:  7;  Jos.  4:  6;  Ps.  78-  6. 


The  Destroyer.  A  personal 
agent  is  referred  to.  In  v.  29  it  is 
ascribed  to  the  Lord — Jehovah.  In 
Heb.  11  :  28,  it  is  the  Destroyer  of 
the  first-born. 

24.  To  thee  and  to  thy  sons  for- 
ever. So  God  has  always  graciously 
included  the  children  in  the  blessings 
of  His  covenant.  The  ordinances 
are  household  ordinances.  The  new 
birth  is  not  of  bloods — one  or  anoth- 
er— yet  the  provision  includes  the 
children  of  believers  as  specially 
contemplated  and  cared  for  in  the 
covenant.  Therefore  the  paschal 
lamb  was  to  be  taken  and  slain  and 
eaten  by  families.  Bless  the  Lord 
for  His  grace  to  children's  children 
in  all  the  ages.  This  thing,  lit.,  this 
word — this  command  or  ordinance — 
It  shall  be  a  permanent  institution 
in  the  Jewish  church. 

25.  The  people  were  in  training 
for  permanent  religious  services  in 
the  Promised  Land.  Here  it  is  di- 
rected that  this  ordinance  is  for 
their  observance  in  Canaan,  as  it 
was  to  teach  them  the  vital  princi- 
ples of  their  faith,  founded  on  the 
idea  of  sin  and  salvation  by  a  Re- 
deemer. It  is  called  a  service,  since 
it  was  to  be  done  in  obedience  to 
God,  and  was  part  of  the  service 
which  as  His  servants  they  owed  to 
Him.  Though  it  was  a  provision 
for  their  good,  yet  they  were  held 
obligated  to  the  performance.  For 
God  has  pleased  to  make  it  our  high- 
est duty  to  accept  His  salvation. 
"  This  is  the  work  of  God  that  ye 
believe  on  Him  whom  He  hath  sent" 
(John  6  :  29). 

26.  When  your  children,  etc. 
Family  religion  is   here  supposed. 


The  children  were  expected  to  be  at 
the  Paschal  table,  and  to  ask  ques- 
tions about  the  ordinance,  and  the 
parents  were  to  answer  as  instruct- 
ed of  God.  The  ordinance  was  a 
household  ordinance.  It  was  a  fam- 
ily meal — and  a  family  seal.  And 
it  is  in  this  way  that  the  New  Tes- 
tament sacraments  are  to  be  taught 
to  the  children,  that  they  may  un- 
derstandingly  partake  as  is  provid- 
ed. Christian  parents  are  solemnly 
obligated  by  the  terms  of  the  bap- 
tismal ordinance  to  instruct  their 
children  in  the  nature  of  the  obli- 
gations belonging  to  them  and  to  be 
assumed  by  them  at  discretionary 
years.  And  because  so  little  of  this 
is  done,  therefore  so  little  result  is  at- 
tained. ^[  Ye  shall  say.  The  ordi- 
nance was  to  be  explained  as  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  Lord's  Passover.  (1)  Its 
sacrificial  nature  is  declared.  As  a 
bloody  sacrifice  the  Passover  had  in 
it  the  essential  element  of  the  sin-of- 
fering. And  as  a  social  meal,  it  was 
eucharistic — a  thank-offering.  And 
so  it  combined  in  itself  the  essence  of 
the  whole  sacrificial  system.  It  was 
the  top  and  crown  of  the  whole. 
Hengstenberg  shows  that  it  was  the 
foundation  and  centre  of  all  sin- 
offerings.  And  the  Rationalists  to 
avoid  the  significance  of  this  con- 
tend that  it  was  originally  a  festival 
of  nature  to  which  a  religious  ele- 
ment was  afterwards  added.  But 
nature  worship  has  rather  sprung 
from  the  religious  sentiment  which 
is  plainly  most  prominent  in  all  the 
Hebrew  festivals.  Yet  they  all  had 
a  threefold  reference  and  signifi- 
cance. (1)  The  Historical.  (2)  The 
Agricultural.   (3)   The  Evangelical, 


106 


EXODUS. 


27  That  ye  shall  say,  It  is  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord's  pass- 
sover,  who  passed  over  the  houses  of  the  children  of  Israel  in 
Egypt,  when  he  smote  the  Egyptians,  and  delivered  our  houses. 
And  the  people  bowed  the  head  and  s  worshipped. 

28  And  the  children  of  Israel  went  away,  and  did  a3  the 
Lord  had  commanded  Moses  and  Aaron:  so  did  they. 

29  And  it  came  to  pass  that  at  midnight  the  Lord  smote* 

s  Ch.  4:  31.     t  Nu  3;  13;  8:  17;  33:  4;  Ps,  78:  51:  105:  36;   135:  8;  186:  10;  He.  11:  28. 


(1)  The  Passover  had  the  Historical 
reference  as  commemorating  the 
wonderful  deliverance  of  the  cove- 
nant people  from  Egyptian  bondage. 

(2)  The  Agricultural  reference.  At 
the  opening  of  the  barley  harvest, 
the  first  ripe  stalks  were  to  be  pre- 
sented and  waved  before  God.  (3) 
The  Evangelical  reference — embrac- 
ing both  the  others  in  the  antitype, 
(a)  The  Deliverance  from  the  bond- 
age of  the  world  (b)  the  first  fruits 
of  the  Resurrection,  or  harvest  of 
the  world  (Christ  the  first  fruits. 
(1  Cor.  15 :  23).  We  have  had  the 
Christian  Passover,  in  which  the 
type  has  passed  into  the  antitype. — 
There  was  a  meal  in  the  ancient 
Passover,  a  feast  upon  the  sacrifice, 
which  meal  remains  as  the  eucha- 
ristic  thanksgiving  feature  of  this 
social  and  family  ordinance. 

Of  the  Lord's  Passover — the  sac- 
rifice of  the  Passover  (or  Paschal 
lamb)  to  Jehovah — the  lamb  offered 
to  Jehovah  as  expressive  of  atone- 
ment, as  appointed  by  His  gracious 
provision.  Or  it  may  be  understood 
The  sacrifice  of  the  Passover  ordi- 
nance which  is  Jehovah's — whose 
provisions  are  His.  As  we  call  the 
corresponding  New  Testament  ordi- 
nance— The  Lord's  Supper — of  His 
providing,  and  spreading  and  conse 
crating.  It  is  the  Lamb  of  God — 
God's  Lamb.  The  recital  of  the 
Paschal  history  as  the  occasion  of 
the  ordinance  is  touching  and  com- 
prehensive, holding  up  the  great 
Redemptive  fact  as  to  be  impressed 
most  deeply  on  the  household.  This 
is  the  gospel  teaching  which  is  due 
to  christian  children  from  believing 
parents.  Our  Redemption  is  to  be 
put  forth  as  a  joyous  fact,  when  He 


passes  over  us  and  our  houses,  and 
in  this  our  children  are  bidden  to 
rejoice  with  us,  and  to  celebrate 
with  us  the  paschal  ordinance.  It 
is  not  so  much  a  profession  of  reli- 
gion— that  is — of  having  a  notable 
measure  of  religion  fit  to  be  men- 
tioned. It  is  rather  a  confession  of 
Christ,  and  of  the  facts  upon  which 
our  faith  fixes  and  rests.  The  peo- 
ple boiced  the  head  and  worshipped 
in  expression  of  their  reverent  and 
devout  reception  of  these  instruc- 
tions and  of  their  purpose  to  abide 
by  them. 

28.  The  people  obeyed  the  direc- 
tions and  accepted  the  provisions. 
Alas  !  for  those  who  claim  that  they 
can  do  without  the  Lord's  Supper 
and  do  not  need  it  for  their  religious 
living.  "If  I  wash  thee  not  thou 
hast  no  part  with  me."  (John  13.) 
If  any  one  declines  what  Christ  pro- 
nounces needful,  how  can  he  expect 
to  attain  to  the  salvation  which 
Christ  alone  can  provide  ?  And  it  is 
not  a  repulsive  medicine.  It  is  a 
feast.  And  when  He  who  knows 
our  need  has  spread  it  freely  for  us, 
why  shall  we  not  gladly  partake? 
How  can  any  accept  the  Gospel 
feast,  and  refuse  the  Lord's  Supper  V 
It  is  plain  that  children  ought  to  ask 
about  the  Lord's  Supper  and  Bap- 
tism— to  know  what  they  mean  and 
what  they  have  to  do  with  them — 
for  they  are  deeply  concerned  in 
both  these  sacred  and  precious  ordi- 
nances of  Christ's  house. 

§  26.    TnE    Tenth    and    Final 
Plague.     Ch.  XII :  29-36. 

29.  The  dreadful  night  of  horrors 
has  now  arrived.     According  to  all 


CHAPTER  XII. 


107 


all  the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  from  the  first-born 
of  Pharaoh  that  sat  on  his  throne,  unto  the  first-born  of  the 
captive  that  was  in  the  dungeon ;  and  all  the  first-born  of 
cattle. 

30  And  Pharaoh  rose  up  in  the  night,  he  and  all  his  servants, 
and  all  the  Egyptians ;  and  there  was  a  great  cry  v  in  Egypt ; 
for  there  teas  not  a  house  where  there  was  not  one  dead. 


v  Ch.  11:  6:  Pr.  21:  13;  Am.  5:  17:  Matt  25:  6:  Ja.  2:  13. 


that  was  threatened  and  provided 
for  so  it  came  to  pass.  At  midnight 
— in  the  time  of  deep  sleep  ana  se- 
curity— the  blow  came  as  it  had  been 
forewarned,  (ch.  11:  4).  Pharaoh 
might  have  averted  it  and  escaped 
the  deluge  of  wrath,  had  his  wicked 
heart  relented.  But  he  went  madly 
on — defying  God  to  do  His  worst. 
And  as  he  had  cruelly  slain  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Israelites,  so  he  suffers  in 
kind.  The  Plague  is  here  ascribed 
to  Jehovah.  It  was  not  by  the  rod 
of  Moses  as  before,  but  more  direct- 
Ly  and  personally.  Yet  this  does  not 
forbid  the  agency  of  a  Destroyer 
such  as  is  implied  in  Hebrews  (11  : 
23).  And  natural  causes  may  also 
be  admitted.  Only  that  a  pestilence 
confining  its  ravages  to  the  first-born 
implies  the  direct  and  intelligent 
agency  of  a  Personal  mind  and  will. 
Evidently  this  Plague  is  emphasized 
as  having  been  wrought  by  Jehovah. 
And  there  is  nothing  inconsistent 
with  the  supposition  that  it  was  the 
Covenant  Angel,  the  Second  Person 
of  the  Godhead.  %  The  captive  that 
(was)  in  the  dungeon,  lit.,  in  the  house 
of  the  pit.  In  ch.  11 :  5,  it  is  the  wom- 
an behind  the  mill  that  is  mentioned 
In  both  cases  it  is  the  same  idea — 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  of  so- 
ciety— from  the  king  to  the  lowest 
menial  or  slave.  Such  a  judgment 
was  invited  by  the  acts  of  Pharaoh 
and  the  people  in  destroying  the 
male  children  of  the  Israelites.  And 
this  cruelty  they  had  begun  more 
than  eighty  years  before  and  had 
been  practising  since,  to  the  horror 
and  wo  of  the  families  of  Israel.  And 
now  in  one  night  there  comes  such 
a  fitting  recompense  from  God,     (1) 


God  often  pays  in  kind.  (2)  God 
visits  men's  iniquities  on  them  often 
already,  in  this  life.  (3)  God  is 
just  as  well  as  loving  and  good. 
(4)  Many  cannot  or  will  not  believe 
that  God  will  punish  sin  in  another 
world.  But  even  in  this  world,  He 
punishes  often  in  such  a  way  as  to 
show  His  principles  of  administra- 
tion. And  there  must  be  a  time  for 
universal  settlement.  Men  will 
sometime  get  the  reward  of  their 
deeds  ;  except  as  they  take  refuge 
in  Christ,  repenting  and  believing  in 
Him.  The  first-born  of  cattle.  The 
beasts  are  sharers  in  the  wo  which 
the  monarch "s  sin  has  brought  upon 
the  land.  "The  Avhole  creation 
groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  to- 
gether until  now."  (Rom.  8)  But 
the  animal  creation  and  all  created 
things  on  our  planet  will  share  in 
the  blessedness  of  Christ's  Redemp- 
tion. There  is  a  glorious  resting 
for  the  creature  as  the  result  of 
Christ's  finished  work.  How  the 
pride  and  strength  of  Egypt  was 
smitten  in  one  night !  %  Not  a 
house,  that  is,  of  the  class  describ- 
ed, in  which  first  born  were  found, 
of  the  rising  generation — not  them- 
selves parents.  (1)  Alas !  for  the 
children.  How  they  must  suffer  for 
the  misdeeds  of  their  parents.  (2) 
How  important  for  the  children  to 
have  pious  fathers  and  mothers. 
(3)  Children,  and  especially  the 
eldest,  suffer  for  the  drunkenness 
and  theft  and  murder  in  which  their 
parents  are  brought  to  shame  and 
disgrace  the  household.  (4)  What 
a  motive  to  parents  to  be  the  Lord's 
when  their  best  beloved  children 
must  so  much  rise  or  fall  by  their 


108 


EXODUS. 


31  And  he  called  w  for  Moses  and  Aaron  by  night,  and  said, 
Rise  up,  a?id  get  you  forth  from  among  my  people,  both  ye  and 
the  children  of  Israel;  and  go,  serve  the  Lord,  as  ye  have  said. 

32  Also  take  your  flocks  and  your  herds,  as  ye  have  said, 
and  be  gone;  and  x bless  me  also. 

33  And  the  Egyptians  were  ?  urgent  upon  the  people,  that 
they  might  send  them  out  of  the  land  in  haste;  for  they  said, 
We  be  all  dead  men. 

34  And  the  people  took  their  dough  before  it  was  leavened, 
their  kneading-troughs  being  bound  up  in  their  clothes  upon 
their  shoulders. 

35  And  the  children  of  Israel  did  according  to  the  word  of 
Moses  ;  and  they  borrowed  of  the  Egyptians  jewels  of  silver  and 
jewels  of  gold,  and  raiment: 


wCh.  11:  1. 


x  Ge.  27:  34. 


y  Pe.  105: 


conduct.  God  "visits  the  iniquities 
of  the  fathers  upon  the  children 
unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation 
of  those  that  hate  Him."  And  this 
is  commonly  by  a  natural  process  in 
which  vice  spreads  disaster  through 
the  household.  While  He  "shews 
mercy  unto  thousands  (or  families) 
of  them  that  love  Him  and  keep  His 
commandments."  The  blessedness 
and  security  of  being  in  a  pious 
family  cannot  be  exaggerated.  "The 
stout  hearted  are  spoiled  "  (Ps.  76 :  5). 
Pharaoh's  heart  quakes.  He  and 
all  his  people  are  smitten  with  hor- 
ror at  midnight  and  are  roused  from 
sleep. 

The  first  born  of  Pharaoh  him- 
self was  struck  dead  (v.  29). 

31,  32.  So  it  occurred  as  Moses 
had  foretold  him.  (ch.  11  :  8.)  It  is 
evident  that  the  King's  residence 
(at  Tanis  or  Zoan)  must  have  been 
near  to  where  Moses  was,  at  Barne- 
ses, (y.  37)  as  the  inessage  is 
promptly  delivered.  ^[  Both  ye  and 
the  children.  Pharaoh  no  longer 
seeks  compromise,  but  entreats  them 
to  be  gone  altogether,  with  flocks 
and  herds.  He  was  now  eager  to 
grant  them  all  that  they  had  asked 
— as  ye  have  said. — And  bless  me  also. 
He  asks  to  be  on  good  terms  with 
them — dreading  any  farther  curse, 
he  bespeaks  a  blessing.  How  com- 
pletely he  is  brought  down.  And  yet 


how  craven  after  his  stubborn  and 
cruel  persistence  against  God  and 
His  servants.  The  worst  men  and 
most  bitter  opposers  of  Christianity 
have  quailed  at  the  near  prospect  of 
death,  and  have  cried  for  mercy. 

33.  Urgent.  They  were  now  ea- 
ger and  impatient  to  have  them 
gone.  They  saw  death  and  destruc- 
tion staring  them  in  the  face.  (Ps. 
105  :  38.)  We  be  all  dead  men.  They 
made  no  demand  for  their  return. 
God  will  have  absolute  and  uncon- 
ditional submission. 

34.  Their  dough  —  unleavened, 
not  raised — indicating  their  haste, 
(v.  39) — as  the  prohibition  was  not 
yet  given.  Their  Jc?ieading  troughs. 
These  were  bowls  of  wood  or  of  wick- 
er work,  light  and  portable — and 
with  the  dough  in  them  they  could 
wrap  them  in  their  large  loose  man- 
tle and  swing  them  over  the  shoul- 
ders. 

35.  As  Moses  had  directed  them, 
so  the  Israelites  demanded  (not  bor- 
rowed) jewels  of  silver,  etc.  They 
had  need  of  supplies  of  valuables 
and  raiment  for  their  journey.  They 
had  a  right  to  compensation  for 
their  long  and  laborious  service. 
They  make  the  demand — asking  it 
as  their  right — and  God  by  His 
Providence  and  Spirit  disposed  the 
Egyptians  to  grant  this  demand. 

36.  This   might  have  been  con- 


CHAPTER  XII. 


109 


36  And  the  Lord2  gave  the  people  favor  in  the  sight  of  the 
Egyptians,  so  that  they  lent  unto  them  such  things  as  they 
required;  and  they  spoiled  the  Egyptians. 

37  And  the  children  of  Israel  journeyed  from  a  Rameses  to 


z  Ge.  39:  21;  ch.  3:  2!:  11:3. 


aNu.  1:46;  11:21. 


tested  and  refused.  But  the  Lord 
(Jehovah)  gave  the  people  favor  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Egyptians,  who  were 
ready  to  give  them  anything  they 
asked  to  get  clear  of  the  awful 
calamities  which  their  detention  in- 
volved. They  lent,  or,  lit.,  caused 
them  to  ask,  rather,  They  gave  them. 
This  is  plain  from  all  the  connec- 
tion of  the  narrative.  Nothing 
was  said  about  their  return.  The 
contrary  is  presumed  (see  1  Sam.  : 
1  :  28).  The  direction  to  do  this 
had  been  given  prior  to  the  last 
plague,  and  it  was  not  all  of  a  sud- 
den, on  the  eve  of  their  departure . 
Tf  They  spoiled — despoiled — (ch.  3  : 
21,  22  ;  11  :  2,)  showing  that  it  was 
no  lending,  but  giving  under  the 
stress  of  the  occasion — and  so  they 
took  these  treasures  as  spoil  or 
booty  (Gen.  15  :  14.  Ezek.  39  :  10. 
Ps.  105  :  37).  They  came  out  of  the 
land  of  bondage  with  great  sub- 
stance. "  He  brought  them  forth 
also  with  silver  and  gold."  It  was 
God's  doing. 

§  27.  The  Exodus.— Ch.  XII.  37-42. 

37.  From  Barneses.  This  was 
probably  the  province  or  district — 
for  no  city  would  be  a  rendezvous 
for  such  a  multitude.  Yet  the  city 
of  this  name  was  probably  the  head- 
quarters. Some,  as  Hengstenberg 
and  Robinson,  take  this  to  have  been 
Heroopolis,  the  chief  city  of  Goshen, 
(So  Keil  and  Jamieson)  the  modern 
Abu  Keishib,  near  to  Tanis  or  Zoan, 
the  monarch's  residence  (Ps.  78  :  12). 
It  is  held  to  have  been  between  the 
Pelusiac  arm  of  the  Nile  and  the 
N.  W.  extremity  of  the  Bitter 
Lakes.  To  Succoth.  The  name  means 
booths,  probably  a  caravan  station, 
well-known,  about  half  way  between 
Rameses    and  Etham,  or  the  head 


of  the  Red  Sea — the  stations  being 
about  fifteen  miles  apart.  That 
they  went  out  so  promptly  is  owing 
to  the  fact  that  they  had  received 
several  days'  notice,  (ch.  11  :  2)  and 
were  in  expectation  of  a  release  for 
sometime  previous.  Stanley  (Hist. 
of  Jewish  Church)  says :  "  How 
deeply  that  first  resting-place  was 
intended  to  be  sunk  into  their  re- 
membrance may  be  gathered  from 
the  fact  that  this,  rather  than  any 
other  of  the  numerous  halts  in  their 
later  wanderings,  was  selected  to 
be  represented  after  their  entrance 
into  Palestine,  as  a  memorial  of 
their  stay  in  the  wilderness.  The 
Feast  of 'Tabernacles  (Lev.  23  :  40) 
43)  or  Succoth — was  a  feast,  not  of 
tents,  but  of  huts  woven  together 
from  the  boughs  of  goodly  trees, 
branches  of  palm  trees,  etc.,  that  all 
their  generations  might  know  that 
the  Lord  made  the  children  of  Isra- 
el to  dwell  in  booths  when  He 
brought  them  up  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt."  About  six  hundred  thousand, 
These  were  the  marching  men,  and 
supposing  them  to  include  those 
above  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of 
age  (Sp.  Com. :  commonly  reckoned 
above  twenty)  besides  women  and 
children,  the  whole  people  would  ea- 
sily amount  to  more  than  two  mill- 
ions. Josephus  says  "  two  hundred 
and  forty  myriads."  It  has  been 
doubted  by  many  whether  there 
could  have  been  such  an  increase 
of  the  Israelites  during  their  sojourn 
in  Egypt,  whether  that  period  be 
reckoned  as  four  hundred  years  or 
two  hundred  and  fifteen.  But  (1) 
this  large  multitude  who  went  out 
of  Egypt,  though  called  Israelites, 
included  with  descendants  of  Jacob's 
family  and  of  his  household,  the 
trained  servants  who  went  down 
with  him,  of  whom  Abraham  had 


110 


EXODUS. 


Succoth,  about  b  six  hundred  thousand  on  foot  that  were  men, 
beside  children. 

38  And  a  mixed  multitude  c  went  up  also  with  them,  and 
flocks  and  herds,  even  very  much  cattle. 


bNu.  1: 


11:  21.        cNu.  11:  4. 


318  and  Jacob,  doubtless,  had  a  large 
retinue.  Rawlinson  says  :  "  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  whole  company 
which  entered  Egypt  with  Jacob 
amounted  to  above  one  thousand 
souls."  {Aids  to  Faith  p.  322.)  All 
of  these  being  circumcised,  and 
perhaps  born  in  the  house,  would 
be  reckoned  as  Israelites.  This 
supposition,  however,  is  not  neces- 
sity to  account  for  the  increase  in 
E  gypt.  Birks  makes  the  descent 
into  Egypt  to  have  been  not  of  Ja- 
cob's family  alone,  but  of  a  whole 
Hebrew  tribe  and  so  called  Hebrews 
— including  many  more  than  Jacob's 
sons  and  grandsons,  and  probably 
not  less  than  a  thousand  in  all  (pp. 
139,  40).  Doubtless  a  large  retinue 
of  household  servants  and  attend- 
ants had  been  inherited  by  Jacob 
from  Abraham  and  Isaac.  Kelt, 
however,  declines  to  include  these, 
and  confines  the  reckoning  to  the 
seventy,  who  went  in,  as  put  in  con- 
trast with  those  who  came  out. 
Making  all  deductions  from  the  70, 
there  remain  forty-one  grandsons 
who  founded  families,  in  addition 
to  the  Levites.  Reckoning  forty 
years  as  a  generation  (1  Chron.  7  :  20, 
etc.)  the  tenth  generation  of  the  41 
grandsons  would  be  born  about  the 
year  400  of  the  sojourn  in  Egypt, 
and  therefore  would  be  over  20 
years  of  age  at  the  exodus.  He  cal- 
culates that  there  would  be  by  ordi- 
nary reckoning  603,550  men  who 
were  more  than  20  years  old  at  the 
exodus.  And  this  without  any  spe- 
cial Divine  blessing  for  their  extra 
increase.  (2)  But  if  their  sojourn  in 
Egypt  was  only  215  years,  as  we 
have  supposed,  then,  taking  seven 
descents  or  natural  generations  of 
30  years,  there  is  no  impossibility 
in  the  numbers.  But  (3)  there  is  to 
be  considered  God's  special  promise 


to  the  patriarchs  of  a  very  numer- 
ous seed.  (4)  The  practice  of  polyg- 
amy would  further  need  to  be  taken 
into  the  account,  besides  intermar- 
riages with  their  household  servants 
who  were  fellow- worshippers,  and  of 
their  own  domestic  circle.  Added 
to  this  their  intermarriages  with 
the  Egyptians  would  need  to  be 
reckoned.  It  is  capable  of  clearest 
proof,  and  it  has  been  shown  re- 
peatedly and  conclusively  on  various 
bases  of  calculation  that  these  num- 
bers are  readily  accounted  for,  even 
on  the  basis  of  215  years  sojourn  in 
Egypt.  (See  Payne  Smith's  B amp- 
ton  Lectures,  1869.  III.  p.  88.)  The 
total  here  mentioned,  600,000,  is  ad- 
mitted by  Ewald.  (See  Gen.  12  :  2  ; 
17  :  6  ;  22  :  17  ;  26  :  3  ;  46  :  3.)  See 
also  for  the  more  direct  number 
(Num.  2  :  32  ;  3  :  39).  With  68  males 
for  the  first  term — 8  for  the  number 
of  terms,  and  4  for  the  common  ra- 
tio, the  last  term,  or  the  number  of 
males  at  the  exodus,  would  be 
1,114,112.— Murphy. 

38.  A  mixed  multitude.  A  pro- 
miscuous crowd — many  stragglers 
and  hangers  on.  who  were  out- 
siders, however  they  may  have 
formed  the  connection  with  the 
Israelites — fellow-workmen  as  cap- 
tives in  war  perhaps — glad  to 
escape  with  the  released  people, 
and  impressed  perhaps  by  the  judg- 
ments wrought  against  Pharaoh 
and  Egypt.  *ft  Very  much  cattle. 
So  it  was  provided  that  they  should 
have  means  of  sustenance  in  the 
wilderness.  In  illustration  of  this 
great  Exodus  a  sudden  retreat  is  re- 
corded of  400,000  Tartars,  a  whole 
nomadic  people,  under  cover  of  a 
single  night  (as  late  as  the  close  of 
the  last  century),  from  the  confines 
of  Russia  to  their  own  wilds. — 
Ewald. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Ill 


39  And  they  baked  unleavened  cakes  of  the  dough  which  they 
brought  forth  out  of  Egypt,  for  it  was  not  leavened ;  because 
they  were  thrust  out  of  Egypt,  and  could  not  tarry,  neither  had 
they  prepared  for  themselves  any  victual. 

40  Now  the  sojourning  of  the  children  of  Israel,  who  dwelt 
in  Egypt,  was  d  four  hundred  and  thirty  years. 

41  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  end  of  the  four  hundred  and 

d  Ge.  15:  13;  Ac.  7:  6;  Ga.  3:  17. 


39.  Baked  unleavened  cakes. 
The  prohibition  of  leaven  had  not 
been  made  for  the  Passover  night, 
and  they  had  no  time  now,  to  pro- 
cure leaven  (v.  34).  It  is  here  ac- 
counted for  from  their  haste  in 
departing.  Whatever  notice  of 
Several  days  they  had  had,  the 
excitement  and  the  necessary   pre- 

Earations  to  go  out,  with  all  they 
ad,  would  prevent  many  a  comfort 
in  the  arrangement.  T[  Any  victual 
— any  provision  for  the  journey. 

40.  Now  the  sojourning,  etc. 
There  has  been  much  dispute  as  to 
the  period  passed  in  Egypt — and 
whether  this  term  here  named  in- 
cludes the  sojourn  in  Canaan.  The 
weight  of  modern  opinion  seems  to 
be  in  favor  of  the  longer  chronolo- 
gy, making  the  430  years  to  have 
been  passed  in  Egypt.  And  some 
have  adopted  this  view  as  better 
accounting  for  the  large  number  of 
the  people  who  came  out  of  Egypt. 
But  as  we  have  seen,  this  is  not 
necessary.  And  Paul  in  the  Gala- 
tians  (3 :  17)  states  that  the  Law 
was  given  430  years  after  the 
promise  to  Abraham.  So  Gen.  15  : 
13,  16,  gives  400  years  for  the  term 
of  affliction  and  bondage  of  Abra- 
ham's seed  in  a  strange  land,  and 
the  "  fourth  generation "  for  the 
time  of  their  return  to  Canaan. 
This  seems  to  some  inconsistent 
with  the  short  chronology.  But 
not  necessarily  so ;  yet  if  430  years 
be  the  period  from  the  call  of 
Abraham,  then  405  years  would 
remain  from  the  birth  of  Isaac  to 
the  year  of  the  Exodus.  Keil 
argues  for  the  longer.  So  does 
Havernich,     Kurtz,    Hengstenoerg , 


RinrUiisdn,  etc., — by  supposing  that 
some  of  the  genealogical  links  are 
omitted.  But  this  is  conjecture. 
Birks,  MacDonald,  Baumgarten, 
Murphy,  and  others  adopt  the 
shorter.  The  Psalmist  recognizes 
the  fact  that  Canaan  was  to  the 
patriarchs  "  a  strange  land,"  (Ps. 
105).  When  they  were  but  a  few 
(men)  in  number,  yea,  very  few,  and 
strangers  in  it,  (that  is  the  land  of 
Canaan,  v.  11)  and  in  this  Psalm 
which  refers  to  this  so  expressly, 
he  recites  their  national  history 
from  Abraham's  call,  (v.  6)  and  tra- 
ces them  when  they  went  from  one 
nation  to  another,  from  one  king- 
dom to  another  people  (v.  13). 
Israel  also  came  into  Egypt  and 
Jacob  sojourned  in  the  land  of 
Ham."  (v.  23.)  Now,  is  it  probable 
that  the  400  years  spoken  of  to 
Abraham  would  refer  to  a  section 
of  their  sojournings  and  not  to  all, 
and  that  the  strange  land  should 
not  include  the  land  of  which  it  is 
here  said  they  were  strangers  in  it. 
Acts  7 :  6.  Gen.  15 :  13.  Gal.  3 :  17. 
"  By  faith  he  sojourned  in  the  land 
of  promise  as-in  a  strange  land." 
Heb.  11  :  9.  Augustine  reckons 
from  the  75th  year  of  Abraham 
when  he  left  Haran,  then  from 
Haran  to  Isaac  25  years,  from 
Isaac  to  Jacob  60,  Jacob  to  the 
entrance  to  Egypt  130,  thence  to 
the  death  of  Joseph  71,  to  Moses 
64,  to  Exodus  80,  making  in  all 
430  years. 

41.  The  self-same  day.  God  is 
exact  in  His  time,  and  keeps  His 
promises  to  the  day  and  hour.  "  In 
the  fulness  (or  fulfilling)  of  the 
times,"  as  in  smaller  matters  most 


112 


EXODUS. 


thirty  years,  even  the  self-same  day  it  came  to  pass,  that  all  the 
hosts  of  the  Lord  went  out  from  the  land  of  Egypt. 

42  It  is  a  night  to  be  much  e  observed  unto  the  Lord  for 
bringing  them  out  from  the  land  of  Egypt ;  this  is  that  night 
of  the  Lord  to  be  observed  of  all  the  children  of  Israel  in  their 
generations. 

43  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  This  is  the 
ordinance  f  of  the  passover:  There  shall  no  stranger  eat  thereof; 

44  But  every  man's  servant  that  is  bought  for  money,  when 
thou  hast  e  circumcised  him,  then  shall  he  eat  thereof; 

45  A  h  foreigner  and  an  hired  servant  shall  not  eat  thereof. 


e  De.  16:  1  -6. 


f  Na.  9:  14.  g  Ge.  17:  12. 


h  Le.  22:  10;  Ep.  2:  15 


personal  to  us,  He  keeps  His  word 
punctually.  It  was  fulfilled  as 
spoken  to,  Abraham,  Gen.  15  :  13-16. 
At  the  end  of  the  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years  came  the  Exodus. 
T[  The  hosts  of  Jehovah.  In  ch.  7: 
4,  God  calls  the  people  of  Israel 
His  armies  or  hosts — and  His  title  is 
the  Lord  of  hosts — whether  of  starry 
hosts,  or  armies  of  people. 

42.  A  night,  lit.,  a  night  of 
keepings — whether  of  preservation 
{Keil)  or  of  observances  {Murphy 
etc.)  to  be  kept  as  a  solemn  obser- 
vance to  (in  honor  of)  Jehovah — this 
is  that  (memorable)  night  of  Jehovah, 
to  be  observed — (same  phrase  as  be- 
fore) night  of  observances  (plur.  of 
eminence)  to  (or  for)  Jehovah — for 
all  the  children  of  Israel  in  their 
generations.  The  repetition  shows 
that  this  would  be  the  leading  fes- 
tival and  sacrament  of  their  reli- 
gion always. 

A  papyrus  manuscript  found  in 
an  Egyptian  tomb  has  lately  been 
translated  by  a  scholar  of  Heidel- 
berg. It  is  pronounced  by  the 
Heidelberger,  says  the  Jewish 
World,  to  be  an  address  of  Rameses 
III.  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
in  which  the  King  details  minutely 
all  the  causes  which  led  to  the 
exodus  of  the  Jews  from  the  land 
of  the  Pharaohs. 

§  28.    Ordinances  of  the  Pass- 
over.   Ch.  XII :  43-57. 

43.  No  stranger — no    one    who 


was  not  of  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel  and  who  was  a  stranger  to 
the  covenants  of  promise — no  alien, 
could  be  a  partaker,  or  communi- 
cant. 

44.  A  servant  was  to  be  circum- 
cised and  so  admitted  to  partake — 
since  circumcision  was  the  badge  of 
membership,  and  the  personal  seal 
of  the  covenant, — as  Baptism  now 
is,  which  takes  its  place.  It  was 
the  duty  of  the  householder  to  in- 
troduce his  purchased  servant  into 
his  church,  as  responsible  for  him. 
The  proselytes  who  were  circumcised 
were  also  baptised — to  indicate 
their  cleansing  from  ceremonial 
defilement  as  heathen.  And  when 
circumcision,  which  pointed  to 
native  depravity  and  to  a  miraculous 
generation,  was  discontinued  by 
the  coming  of  the  God-man,  then 
the  baptism  held  over  and  was  re- 
tained, as  suited  in  all  its  ideas,  to 
the  extension  of  the  church 
amongst  the  Gentiles. 

45.  A  foreigner,  lit.,  a  sojourner. 
As  the  Passover  was  the  sacrament 
of  a  covenant  in  which  the  Israelites 
were  adopted  as  the  people  of  God, 
it  followed  that  a  sojourner  had  no 
share,  as  not  being  of  the  people 
and  having  no  fixed  home,  or  per- 
manent relation  to  a  covenant  house- 
hold. Hired  servants — having  no 
permanent  relation,  but  liable  at  any 
time  to  break  their  connection  with 
Israel — were  not  admitted,  as  not  of 
the  covenant  family.  "  A  circum- 
cised beggar,  or  slave,  was  nearer 


CHAPTER  XII. 


113 


46  In  one  house  shall  it  be  eaten ;  thou  shalt  not  carry  forth 
ousrht  of  the  flesh  abroad  out  of  the  house,  neither  shall  ve  break 
a  bone  i  thereof. 

47  All  the  congregation  of  Israel  shall  keep  it. 

48  And  when  a  stranger  shall  sojourn  with  thee,  and  will 
keep  the  passover  to  the  Lord,  let  all  his  males  be  circumcised, 
and  then  let  him  come  near  and  keep  it;  and  he  shall  be  as  one 
that  is  born  in  the  land:  for  no  uncircumcised  person  shall  eat 
thereof. 

49  One  law  k  shall  be  to  him  that  is  home-born,  and  unto  the 
stranger  that  sojourneth  among  you. 

50  Thus  did  all  the  children  of  Israel ;  as  the  Lord  com- 
manded Moses  and  Aaron,  so  did  they. 


Nu.  9:  12;  Jno.  19:  33-36. 


k  Nu.  9:  14;  15:  15,  16;  Ga.  3:  28;  Co.  3: 11. 


to  God  than  an  uncircumcised  king." 
"  They  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot 
please  God"  (Rom.  8  :  8).  "Aliens 
from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel 
and  strangers  from  the  covenants  of 
promise  have  no  hope,  and  are  with- 
out God  in  the  world."  But  now, 
incorporated  with  the  church,  they 
are  presumed  to  be  one  with  Christ, 
and  they  so  are,  if  they  have  living 
faith  in  Him,  and  as  such  they  are 
no  more  strangers  and  foreigners, 
but  fellow-citizens  of  the  saints  and 
of  the  household  of  God."  (Ephes. 
2:  19,20.) 

46.  In  one  house.  Here  is  the 
unity  of  the  church  intimated. 
"  One  body  and  one  spirit  and  one 
hope  of  our  calling."  The  Tar  gum 
renders  it,  In  one  company.  The 
victim  was  to  be  consumed  by  the 
one  company  met  for  the  passover, 
whether  of  the  same  family  or  not. 
1"  Neither  break  a  bone.  Only  this 
victim  was  to  be  kept  entirely  whole. 
A  whole  Saviour  and  not  half,  nor 
in  parts — not  as  priest  to  atone,  if 
not  also  as  king  to  rule  and  as 
prophet  to  teach.  John  recognized 
the  typical  application  of  this  to 
Christ  Jesus  (John  19  :  86). 

47.  All  the  congregation — or  as- 
sembly. This  is  the  oneness  of  the 
membership.  "  One  body  in  Christ 
and  every  one  members  one  of  an- 
other (Rom.  12  :  5).    It  was  as  if  all 


Israel   were   eating   one  Lamb.     It 
was  the  communion  of  saints. 

48.  There  was  provision  for  a 
stranger,  or  sojourner,  who  settled 
with  the  covenant  people — taking 
up  his  abode  with  them.  The  ne- 
cessary condition  of  communion  was 
the  rite  of  circumcision  as  the  cov- 
enant seal.  And  will  keep  the  Pass- 
over, lit.,  and  he  has  made  (prepar- 
ed) a  Passover  to  Jehovah,  let  every 
male  be  circumcised  to  him  —  (he 
himself  and  all  the  male  members 
of  his  house)  and  then  he  may  draw 
near  to  Jehovah  and  keep  it.  Cir- 
cumcision was  the  badge  of  mem- 
bership. 

49.  Circumcision  was  the  out- 
ward profession ;  and  the  door  was 
open  to  the  Gentiles  on  this  sole 
condition  admitting  them  to  the 
church  benefits.  And  so  it  was  al- 
ready thus  early  made  plain  that  the 
religion  of  the  Jewish  people  was 
not  exclusive,  but  was  open  to  all, 
and  was  intended  to  include  the 
Gentiles. 

50.  These  requirements  and  in- 
structions were  faithfully  observed 
by  the  people  of  Israel. 

51.  Here  closes  the  narrative  of 
the  Paschal  Deliverance.  This  verse 
properly  belongs  to  the  paragraph 
closing  with  v.  30.  Yet  it  stands 
here  as  a  connecting  link  with  the 
next  chapter.   The  Deliverance  thus 


114 


EXODUS. 


51  And  it  came  to  pass,  the1  self-same  clay,  that  the  Lord  did 
bringr  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  m  by  their 


p 
armies. 


1  Ver.  41. 


m  ch.  6:  26. 


provided  for  was  accomplished  the 
self -same  day  as  promised.  For  this 
all  the  warnings  had  been  given  to 
Pharaoh,  and  all  the  plagues  had 
been  wrought  upon  Egypt.  The 
closing  item  of  all  earthly  history 
will  be  like  to  this.  Jehovah  brought 
forth  in  that  self- same  day  the  cov- 
enant people  (his  own  children)  out 
of  bondage  to  sin  and  death — by 
their  armies,  lit.,  upon  their  hosts. 
This  does  not  refer  to  war,  but  to 
solid  organized  bands,  tribes,  etc., 
t.nder  their  respective  leaders — to 
show  that  it  was  done  on  the  plan 
and  basis  of  most  orderly  arrange- 
ment, and  not  at  loose  ends — not  in 
straggling  crowds.  So  the  church 
of  Christ  is  led  forth  from  satanic 
bondage  by  individual  churches 
The  one  communion  is  made  up  of 
distinct  communions.  The  Sept. 
reads,  with  their  strength.  But  the 
literal  meaning  is  the  better.  They 
were  led  forth  in  orderly,  well-ar- 
ranged columns.  (See  ch.  13  :  18.) 
God  is  a  God  of  order,  and  not  of 
confusion.  It  is  referred  to  in  con- 
nection with  our  Lord's  flight  in  in- 
fancy to  Egypt  and  His  return  there- 
from, to  which  this  is  likened  as 
being  the  Deliverance  of  Israel,  as 
the  Son  of  Jehovah.  For  this  Son 
is  a  complex  Person,  of  which 
Christ  is  the  Head  and  His  people 
are  the  members.  (1)  This  Deliver- 
ance of  the  church  from  Egypt  was 
typical  of  the  greater  Deliverance 
of  the  church  from  the  bondage  of 
the  world — of  sin  and  death — by 
Je§us  Christ.  (2)  It  was,  in  the  in- 
fancy of  the  church,  the  foreshadow 
of  our  Lord's  return  from  Egypt  in 
His  infancy,  and  His  Deliverance 
from  persecutions  which  had  driven 
Him  there.  (3)  It  was  preparatory 
in  the  world's  history  for  the  Deliv- 
erance and  salvation  of  the  chris- 
tian church  then  future. 


Observe,  (1)  Circumcision  and 
the  Passover  denote  Regeneration 
and  Redemption.  (2)  Circumcision 
symbolizes  the  new  birth  without 
signifying  its  fruits.  The  Passover 
represents  the  effects  of  Redemption 
in  the  eating  of  the  sacrifice — de- 
noting the  benefits  received  and  en- 
joyed. (3)  Circumcision  referring  to 
what  is  inward  is  personal  and  in- 
dividual. The  Passover  referring  to 
what  is  outside  of  ourselves  is  a 
social  ordinance  and  exhibits  the 
communion  of  saints.  (4)  In  circum- 
cision as  in  the  new  birth,  the  re- 
cipient is  passive.  In  the  Passover 
which  implies  a  voluntary  partaking 
of  the  sacrificial  meal  the  recipient 
is  active.     (See  Murphy  ch.  12  :  11.) 

Observe,  further.  (1)  It  was 
Jehovah's  Passover,  (a)  Provided  by 
Him.  (b)  In  honor  of  Him.  (c)  In 
celebration  of  His  sparing  mercy 
and  redeeming  grace.  (2)  The  de- 
liverance was  by  means  of  the  blood- 
mark.  Not  by  the  blood-shedding, 
if  the  blood  was  not  applied,  for 
the  public  open  acceptance  and  ap- 
propriation of  the  Paschal  provision 
was  requisite.  (3)  Leaven  in  the 
house  would  cut  off  from  commun- 
ion. But  the  blood-mark  secured  the 
salvation.  Corruption  spoils  one's  re- 
ligious living  and  cuts  off  his  fellow- 
ship. But  it  is  not  even  the  unleav- 
ened living  that  saves.  It  is  still 
the  blood.  "  When  I  see  the  blood" 
— not  when  I  see  the  leaven  all 
swept  out.  It  is  Christ's  finished 
work  for  us — not  the  Spirit's  finish- 
ed work  within  us  (alas !  so  unfin- 
ished) that  is  to  be  the  basis  of  our 
hope,  and  which  God  looks  upon  for 
our  salvation.  (4)  The  leaven  was 
put  away  by  the  covenant  people 
because  of  their  faith  in  the  blood 
of  expiation,  and  because  of  their 
being  saved,  not  in  order  to  be  saved. 
And  so  faith  works.     It  is  not  serv- 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


115 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

AND  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying, 
2  Sanctify  unto  me  all  the  a  first-born,  whatsoever  openeth 
the  womb  among  the  children  of  Israel,  both  of  man  and  of 
beast :  it  is  mine. 

3  And  Moses   said  unto  the  people,  Remember  this  t,  day, 
in  which  ye  came  out  from  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage; 


a  Ver.  12;  ch.  22:  29:  34:  19;  Nu.  3:  13;  De.  15:  19;  Lu.  2: 


b  ch.  12:  42. 


ing  God  that  we  may  gain  Heaven. 
No  !  but  because  Heaven  is  gained 
for  us  by  Christ,  and  we  have  it  for 
nothing !  (5)  God  from  the  first 
takes  our  side  against  our  enemies, 
Satan,  sin,  the  world,  the  flesh.  They 
are  His  enemies  also.  He  under- 
takes for  us,  and  despoils  them. 
Glory  to  God  for  our  Redemption  ! 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

§  29.  Sanctification  of  TnE 
First-born.  Rules  for  the 
Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread. 
Ch.  XIII :  1-16. 

God  had  acquired  a  special 
right  to  the  first-born  by  His  distin- 
guishing grace  in  saving  them  when 
the  first-born  of  Egypt  were  de- 
stroyed. Therefore  He  will  have 
them  solemnly  set  apart  to  Him 
and  His  service.  This  command 
was  given  therefore  as  a  first  re- 
quirement after  the  Deliverance  and 
grounded  upon  it.  Keil  therefore 
pronounces  it  as  in  its  proper  place 
in  the  narrative,  and  as  probably 
commanded  at  Succoth.  The  feast 
of  unleavened  bread  had  been  al- 
ready ordered  by  God  to  Moses. 
But  Moses  now  •  gives  the  order  to 
the  people  as  required  in  ch.  12  : 
15,  etc.,  — "  Every  first-born  that  is 
a  male,"  (v.  12)  Sanctify.  The  term 
means  here  Set  apart  as  devoted. 

2.  It  was  not  simply  a  right  by 
creation  but  this  special  right  by 
Redemption  which  is  here  insisted 
on.  In  this  act  and  by  this  fact, 
God  set  them   apart  as   His.     The 


first-born  of  men  as  ministers — the 
first-born  of  beasts  as  victims. 
"  They  are  mine."  (1)  God  claims 
the  flower  and  strength  of  our  re- 
deemed households  for  His  service. 
And  Christian  parents  are  specially 
bound  to  devote  their  first-born  sons 
to  God  in  the  ministry.  The  Le- 
vites  were  afterwards  set  apart  as  a 
tribe  in  lieu  of  the  first-born  but 
on  the  basis  of  God's  claim  as  here 
expressed,  and  then  the  first-born 
were  to  be  redeemed  from  the 
claim.  (2)  This  consideration  is 
closely  connected  with  the  Passover. 
And  hence,  at  every  celebration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  the  christian  fa- 
ther and  mother  should  recognize 
this  right  of  God  to  their  sons  in 
the  service  of  the  ministry  (Heb.  12 : 
23).  It  is  eminently  due  to  God  in 
gratitude  for  His  grace  in  sparing 
our  households  that  we  should  con- 
secrate our  children  to  His  special 
service. 

3.  The  Passover  was  properly 
the  opening  of  the  feast  of  Unleav- 
ened Bread.  Remember  this  day. 
As  they  were  commanded  to  remem 
her  the  Sabbath  day,  so  they  were 
commanded  to  remember  this  day 
of  glorious  Deliverance.  It  was  the 
day  that  signalized  God's  covenant 
fidelity  and  love,  and  the  day  of  the 
sacramental  seal  of  that  covenant. 
The  house  of  bondage,  lit.,  the  house 
of  slaves,  where  they  had  suffered 
such  cruel  treatment  from  which 
now  they  were  exempt,  and  were 
become  a  nation  emerged  from 
thraldom.  *[  By  strength  of  hand. 
By  the  display  of  Divine  power,  in 


116 


EXODUS. 


for  by  strength  of  hand  the  Lord  brought  you  out   from  this 
place:  there  shall  no  leavened  bread  be  eaten. 

4  This  day  came  ye  out,  c  in  the  month  Abib. 

5  And  it  shall  be,  when  the  Lord  shall  bring  thee  into  the 
land  of  the  Canaanites,  and  the  Hittites,  and  the  Amorites,  and 
the  Hivites,  and  the  Jebusites,  which  he  d  sware  unto  thy  fathers 
to  give  thee,  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  that  thou 
shalt  keep  this  service  in  this  month. 

6  Seven  days  e  thou  shalt  eat  unleavened  bread,  and  in  the 
seventh  day  shall  be  a  feast  to  the  Lord. 

7  Unleavened  bread  shall  be  eaten  seven  days  :  and  there 
shall  f  no  leavened  bread  be  seen  with  thee,  neither  shall  there 
be  leaven  seen  with  thee  in  all  thy  quarters. 

8  And  thou  shalt  shew  thy  son  g  in  that  day,  saying,  This 
is  done  because  of  that  lohich  the  Lord  did  unto  me  when  I 
came  forth  out  of  Egypt. 


cDe.  16:1-3.     d  Gc.  17:  8;  22:  1( 


ch.  12:  15.     f  ch.  12:  19.     g  ch.  12:  26;  ver.  14. 


the  judgments  successively  inflicted. 
All  was  due  to  God's  mighty  power. 
So  recently  in  bondage  and  just  now 
escaped,  they  were  prepared  to  re- 
ceive this  charge.  "  With  a  strong 
hand,  and  with  a  stretched  out  arm  " 
(Ps.  106  :  12).  If  Wo  leavened  bread. 
This  prohibition  is  repeated  and 
emphasized  for  its  significance  as 
to  the  putting  away  from  them  of 
pride  and  corruption. 

4.  The  very  day  of  the  Exodus 
in  the  month  Abib  is  to  be  borne  in 
mind. 

5.  All  the  ritual  observances 
were  for  their  training  to  the  great 
ideas  of  sin  and  salvation.  Into  their 
own  land  they  were  to  be  brought 
as  a  nation  and  there  they  were  to 
be  put  under  this  ceremonial  tute- 
lage for  the  coming  superior  deliv- 
erance by  Jesus  Christ.  Here  they 
are  charged  that  this  feast  is  to  be  a 
permanent  institution  in  the  land 
of  Canaan.  During  the  wilderness 
wanderings  they  had  little  oppor- 
tunity to  keep  the  feast. 

6.  A  feast  to  the  Lord  Jehovah. 
The  seventh  day  of  the  feast  of 
Mazzoth  or  unleavened  bread  was 
to  be  a  feast  to  Jehovah  by  a  holy 
convocation  and  suspension  of 
work  (12:  16).     The  first  day  was 


of  course  a  feast  of  Jehovah.  So 
that  the  Passover  and  the  feast  of 
unleavened  bread  occupied  eight 
days.  See  Levit.  ch  23.  There  is 
seen  to  be  a  significance  in  "  the 
morning  after  the  Sabbath,"  so 
much  insisted  on,  and  especially  in 
the  feast  of  tabernacles  where  it 
was  the  day  for  the  waving  of  the 
first-fruits — and  where  thus  there 
was  an  evident  foresignifying  of 
the  New  Testament  Sabbath — as  the 
day  after  the  Sabbath  when  Christ 
the  first-fruits  was  waved  (pass- 
ing up  and  down)  before  the  Lord. 

7.  A  still  further  repeating  and  in- 
sisting on  the  prohibition  of  leaven. 

8.  Because  of  that,  lit.,  Because 
of  this  that  Jehovah  did  unto  me—, 
that  is — I  observe  this  feast  be- 
cause, etc.  (1)  Instruction  of  the 
household  was  engrafted  upon  the 
whole  service  at  this  initial  point, 
and  it  was  held  to  be  a  fundamen- 
tal duty,  to  teach  and  train  the 
children  for  God.  (2)  The  presence 
of  the  children  at  the  solemn  festi- 
val was  taken  for  granted.  Why 
should  not  the  children  of  Chris- 
tians take  their  places  at  the  Lord's 
Supper  ?  There  are  seats  for  the 
little  ones  at  Christ's  table. 

9.  The  observance  was    to    Is- 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


117 


9  And  it  shall  be  for  h  a  sign  unto  thee  upon  thine  hand, 
and  for  a  memorial  between  thine  eyes;  that  the  Lord's  law 
may  be  in  thy  mouth:  for  with  a  strong  hand  hath  the  Lord 
brought  thee  out  of  Egypt. 

10  Thou  shalt  therefore  keep  this  ordinance  *  in  bis  season 
from  year  to  year. 

11  And  it  shall  be,  when  the  Lord  shall  bring  thee  into  the 
land  of  the  Canaanites,  as  he  sware  unto  thee  and  to  thy  fathers, 
and  shall  give  it  thee, 

12  That  thou  shalt  set  apart  unto  the  Lord  all  that  openeth 
the  matrix,  and  every  firstling  that  cometh  of  a  beast  which 
thou  hast  ;  the  males  shall  be  the  Lord's. 

13  And  every  firstling  of  an  ass  thou  shalt  redeem  with  a 
lamb;  and  if  thou  wilt  not  redeem  it,  then  thou  shalt  break  his 
neck :  and  all  the  first  born  of  man  among  thy  children  shalt 
thou  redeem. 


h  Ver.  16;  De. 


I;  11:  18;  Pr.  1:  9;  6:  21;  Ca. 


i  ch.  12:  14-24. 


rael,  "for  a  sign  unto  thee  upon  thine 
hand."  It  was  to  keep  the  events 
as  constantly  in  view,  as  if  it  had 
been  graven  on  the  palms  of  their 
hands,  or  as  if  it  had  been  worn  as 
a  jewel  pendant  between  the  eyes. 
Murphy  thinks  it  refers  to  the  or- 
namental bracelet  which  they  wore 
about  the  wrist,  and  to  the  jewel 
on  the  forehead,  called  the  frontlet, 
hanging  between  the  eyes,  and  that 
the  ordinance  of  the  Passover  and 
its  accompanying  solemnities  were 
to  serve  as  pleasing  memorials  in 
like  manner  as  these  personal  orna- 
ments often  were,  and  he  says 
"  There  is  a  beautiful  consecration 
of  personal  ornament  in  this  injunc- 
tion." But  the  ordinance  is  to  be 
our  ornament  and  boast  and  joy — 
we  are  to  wear  it  as  a  decoration 
and  then  to  signalize  our  thankful 
and  open  glorying  in  the  Lord  and 
in  His  Covenant.  All  this  for  the 
express  object — that  the  laic  of  the 
Lord  may  be  in  thy  mouth — as  "  it 
was  by  the  reception  of  it  into  the 
heart  and  its  continual  fulfilment 
that  it  was  to  be  placed  in  the 
mouth  and  talked  of  continually." 
— Keil,  (See  2  :  16.) 

10.  In  his  season.    Our  version 
uses    "  hi3,"    for  "  its,"   at  its    ap- 


pointed time,  from  days  to  days,  as 
often  as  the  days  returned  (loth  to 
21st  Abib). 

11-16.  Here  again  Moses  gives 
to  the  people  the  directions  for  the 
permanent  observance  of  this 
feast  in  Canaan.  In  regard  to  the 
first-born,  it  is  here  given  to  the 
Israelites,  as  God  commanded 
Moses  (vs.  1,  2). 

13.  An  ass.  In  Egypt  we  found 
the  donkey  to  be  almost  the  only 
beast  for  travel,  and  these  so  domes- 
ticated as  to  be  of  great  value  for 
constant  use.  At  Cairo,  these  ani- 
mals, each  having  a  boy  to  accom- 
pany him,  were  to  be  found '  in 
numbers  at  the  door  of  the  hotel 
for  hire,  and  for  hours  the  animal 
trots  round  the  city,  with  the  boy 
at  his  side,  and  the  traveller  on  his 
back,  the  boy  punching  the  animal 
with  a  sort  of  spike  of  iron  to  urge 
him  on.  Every  firstling  born  of  an 
ass  was  to  be  devoted  to  God  and 
held  as  His  property,  and  redeemed 
with  a  lamb,  because  the  ass  was 
unclean  and  could  not  be  offered  in 
sacrifice.  It  is  thought  to  be  prob- 
able that  this  was  the  only  unclean 
animal  domesticated  among  the 
Hebrews  at  the  Exodus.  It  not  re- 
deemed with  a  lamb  as  a  substitute 


118 


EXODUS. 


14  And  it  shall  be,  when  thy  son  J  asketh  thee  in  time  to 
come,  saying,  What  is  this?  that  thou  shalt  say  unto  him,  By 
strength  of  hand  the  Lord  brought  us  out  from  Egypt,  from 
the  house  of  bondage  : 

15  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Pharaoh  would  hardly  let  us 
go,  that  the  Lord  slew  all  the  first  born  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
both  the  first-born  of  man  and  the  first-born  of  beast:  therefore 
I  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  all  that  openeth  the  matrix,  being 
males ;  but  all  the  first-born  of  my  children  I  redeem. 

16  And  it  shall  be  for  a  token  upon  thine  hand  and  for 
frontlets  between  thine  eyes  :  for  by  strength  of*  hand  k  the 
Lord  brought  us  forth  out  of  Egypt. 

17  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Pharaoh  had  let  the  people  go, 
that  God  led  them  not  through  the  way  of  the  land  of  the 
Philistines,  although  that  was  near ;  for  God  said,  Lest  perad- 
venture  the  people  l  repent  when  they  see  war,  and  they  return 
m  to  Egypt : 

IS  But  God  n  led  the  people  about,  through  the  way  of  the 


j  De.  6:  20;  Jos.  4: 
n  De.  32:  10. 


21.     k  De.  26: 


]  ch.  14:  11,  12;  Nu.  14:  1-1.    m  De.  17:  16. 


to  be  offered  in  sacrifice,  then  it  was 
to  be  slain,  ^f  First-born  of  man. 
These  of  the  Israelites  were  to  be 
redeemed.  This  was  positively  re- 
quired and  no  alternative  was 
allowed.  The  redemption  money 
was  fixed  in  the  law  at  five  shekels 
of  the  sanctuary  (Numb.  18:  36). 
The  first-born  males  represented 
the  entire  offspring  and  succession. 
14-16.  Instructions  for  the 
household  are  here  added.  The 
reasons  for  the  observance  are  to  be 
carefully  recited — the  history  is  to 
be  repeated.  Our  religion  is  not  a 
theory,  notion,  or  speculation.  It 
is  a  religion  of  facts.  The  history  is 
to  be  told  over  and  over  again  to 
our  children. 

15.  Lit.  When  Pharaoh  made 
hard  to  let  us  go.  Keil  understands 
— made  hard  his  heart,  (ch.  7  :  3.) 
Germ.  Was  hard  to  let  us  go.  Sept. 
— hardened  to  send  us  away.  The 
slaying  of  the  Egyptian  first-born 
was  the  great  and  awful  fact  which 
put  in  striking  contrast  the  grace  of 
the  deliverance  to  Israel. 

16.  As  in  v.  9,  the  meaning  is 
that  the  observance  whose  purport 


was  supposed  to  be  inquired  about 
by  the  sons  of  the  household,  was 
to  be  a  sign,  as  if  graven  on  the 
palms  of  the  hands,  for  a  token  and 
memorial,  and  a  confession,  as  if 
hanging  like  a  jewel  pendant  be- 
tween the  eyes.  Here  is  implied — 
the  idea  of  profession  and  practice. 
As  if  worn  on  the  forehead  —  so 
openly  and  boldly  confessed — and 
as  if  graven  on  the  palms  of  the 
hands — so  associated  with  all  the 
doings.  The  Pharisaic  custom  that 
afterwards  prevailed  grew  out  of  a 
mistaken  view  of  this  passage. 


§30. 


The  Exodus,  continued. — 
Ch.  XIII  :  17-22. 


17.  It  is  here  stated  that  when 
the  people  were  released  and  had 
set  out,  God  did  not  lead  them  by 
the  shortest  route  to  Canaan.  Trav- 
ellers now-adays  usually  take  this 
route  from  Cairo  to  Gaza — mention- 
ed here  as  the  way  of  the  Philis- 
tines —  and  it  occupies  commonly 
about  five  days.  The  reason  for 
avoiding  this  natural  course  is  here 
given — that  it   would    expose    the 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


119 


wilderness  of  the  Red  Sea  :  and  the  children  of  Israel  went  np 
harnessed  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 

19  And  Moses  took  the  bones  of  Joseph  with  him  :  for  he 
had  straitly  sworn  the  children  of  Israel,  saying  °  God  will 
surely  visit  you;  and  ye  shall  carry  up  my  bones  away  hence 
with  you. 

20  And  they  took  their  journey  p  from  Succoth,  and  en- 
camped in  Etham,  in  the  edge  of  the  wilderness. 


o  Ge.  50:  25;  Jos.  24:  32;  Ac.  7:  16. 


p  Nu.  &3: 


Israelites  to  war.  There  was  a 
standing  quarrel  between  these  two 
people  (1  Chron.  7  :  21,  22)  and  at 
this  outset  such  a  conflict  would 
have  been  likely  to  discourage  them 
and  to  send  them  back  to  Egypt. 
It  might  be  objected  to  this  reason- 
ing that  God  could  control  the  case. 
But  He  works  by  natural  means  and 
leads  His  people  by  paths  adapted 
to  their  condition — and  so  we  pray 
"  Lead  us  not  into  temptation  "  or 
trials  of  any  severe  kind.  So  God 
often  deals  with  His  people,  leading 
them  not  by  the  way  which  is  near- 
est, but  the  most  roundabout,  and 
always  for  sufficient  reasons.  ^[  Led 
the  people  about.  He  undertook  their 
guidance.  The  way  was  not  the 
most  direct.  We  are  impatient  of 
any  delay,  and  wish  to  reach  the 
end  most  quickly.  But  God  knows 
what  is  for  us  the  best  path,  how- 
ever circuitous,  and  so  He  leads  us 
forward,  ^f  Through  the  way  of  the 
wilderness  of  the  Red  Sea.  God  had 
His  higher  motives  besides  those 
already  named  for  leading  them  by 
this  route.  The  law  was  to  be  giv- 
en them  beyond  the  Sea,  and  the 
wonders  of  their  deliverance  were 
to  be  wrought  in  that  bed  of  waters. 
This  Sea  is  over  eleven  hundred 
miles  long  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  wide — a  gulf  of  the 
Indian  Ocean,  having  two  arms 
within  which  is  included  the  penin- 
sula of  Arabia  and  the  wilderness 
of  Sinai.  Some  suppose  it  to  have 
been  originally  a  strait  connecting 
the  Mediterranean  and  Indian 
Oceans.  (See  the  Map.) 

Observe.  (1)  The  shortest  way 


is  not  always  the  surest.  (2)  Jesus 
is  the  Alpha  and  Omega — the  be- 
ginning and  ending  of  our  affairs. 
(3)  Wait  and  trust,  and  not  be  dis- 
couraged, for  however  crooked  now, 
the  path  will  come  to  be  straight  at 
length  and  will  lead  home.  %  Went 
up  harnessed.  This  term  is  else- 
where rendered  "  armed."  And 
supposing  this  to  be  the  meaning,  it 
has  been  an  objection  to  the  narra- 
tive as  unhistorical — that  they  could 
not  have  been  armed.  But  they  could 
have  been  armed  after  their  fashion, 
and  probably  were.  It  is  proper, 
however,  to  understand  the  word  as 
meaning  orderly,  or  in  columns, 
probably  on  the  basis  of  five  abreast 
as  the  word  would  indicate,  (as  in 
the  margin)  or  five  divisions.  Oth- 
ers read  it  equipped.  Pharaoh  plain- 
ly dreaded  them  as  fighting  men. 
And  their  numbers  are  given  in  the 
history  here  on  the  basis  of  ability 
to  bear  arms.  This  idea  is  convey 
ed.      (See  cli.  17  :  13.) 

19.  Took  the  bones  of  Joseph. 
The  bones  of  Joseph  had  already 
been  in  their  charge  140 -years,  and 
during  all  their  troubles  they  were 
under  a  solemn  covenant  to  take 
them  up  to  the  Holy  Land,  whenev- 
er they  should  go,  as  Joseph  had 
faith  that  they  would  (Gen.  50  :  24, 
25.)  ^[  Straitly  sworn  them.  Strictly 
bound  them  by  oath.  It  was  his 
faith  in  God's  promise  to  give  them 
possession  of  the  land.  They  had, 
therefore,  the  constant  reminder  of 
Joseph's  dying  confidence,  and  this 
skeleton  of  Egypt's  prime-minis- 
ter, preserved  in  sacred  keeping 
under  such  a  charge,  was  doubtless 


120 


EXODUS. 


21  And  the  Lord  went  before  them  <i  by  day  in  a  pillar  of 
a  cloud,  to  lead  them  the  way,  and  by  night  in  a  pillar  of  fire, 
to  give  them  light :  to  go  by  day  and  night. 

22  He  took  not  away  the  pillar  of  the  cloud  by  day,  nor 
the  pillar  of  fire  by  night  from,  before  the  people. 

q  Nu.  9:  15-23;  10:  34;  14:  14;  De.  1:  33;  Ne.  9:  12-19;  Ps.  78:  14;  99:  7;  105:  39;  Is. 
4:  5;  ICo.  10:  2;  Re.  10:  1. 


influential  in  keeping  them  encour- 
aged during  their  deepest  affliction. 

20.  After  a  kind  of  parenthesis 
from  v.  17,  the  narrative  is  here  re- 
sumed, showing  the  progress  of 
their  departure.  At  Succoth,  doubt- 
less, instructions  were  given  and 
preparations  were  completed  for  the 
journey.  ^[  Etham  was  their  first 
camping  ground  after  leaving  Suc- 
coth— the  booths.  Sp.  Com.  under- 
stands Etham  as  the  same  with  Pi- 
thom — the  sanctuary  of  Thum  (Sun 
God)  and  near  Heroopolis  the  fron- 
tier city,  at  the  edge  of  the  Bitter 
Lakes.  Others  locate  it  between 
the  Bitter  Lakes  and  the  head  of 
the  Arabian  Gulf — though  this  in- 
terval may  have  been  at  that  time 
covered  with  brackish  water  as 
now,  or  the  two  bodies  of  water 
may  have  been  a  connected  whole. 
Ajrud  is  held  to  be  the  point  called 
Etham,  northwest  of  Suez  and  east- 
ward from  Succoth.  So  Teschen- 
dorf and  others.  It  may  be  sup- 
posed to  have  been  chosen  with  the 
purpose  of  going  round  the  head  of 
the  gulf,  and  at  the  edge  of  the  wil- 
derness, a  frontier  point  and  near 
the  border  of  the  gulf,  or  Red  Sea. 

21,  22.  A  Pillar  of  a  cloud.  This 
column  of  cloud  or  misty,  smoky 
vapor,  would  serve  as  a  signal  for 
so  large  a  multitude,  marking 
headquarters  for  the  scattered  com- 
panies pasturing  their  flocks,  and 
serving,  too,  in  its  motion,  as  a  sign 
for  moving  on.  It  was  the  protec- 
tion also  of  the  camp  from  the  sun 
by  day,  and  at  night,  as  it  was  then 
luminous,  it  was  a  light  for  their 
journey ings.  And  altogether  it  was 
a  sign  of  Jehovah's  leadership.  It 
is  known  that  the  Persians  and 
Greeks  used  fire  and  smoke  as  sig- 


nals in  their  marches.  This  was 
something  far  more.  There  was 
something  significant  in  these  to- 
kens here  —  as  afterwards  in  the 
Tabernacle  and  in  the  Temple  the 
luminous  cloud  over  the  mercy-seat 
was  the  Shekinah,  or  visib  le  pres- 
ence of  God,  representing  Jesus 
Christ.  It  was  His  Leadership,  as 
the  Angel  of  the  Covenant,  that  was 
here  set  forth.  (See  ch.  14  :  19.) 
This  was  something  far  superior  to 
the  common  signals  of  Eastern 
armies,  as  caravan  fires.  There 
were  not  two  pillars,  but  one  only. 
Kurtz  understands  that  the  cloud 
represented  the  mercy  of  God  and 
the  fire  the  holiness  of  God.  He 
took  not  away  the  pillar  of  the  cloud. 
It  did  not  disappear.  It  was  a  per- 
fect reliance,  always  serving  its 
purpose  day  and  night  with  infinite 
adaptedness  to  their  condition  and 
wants.  (See  Neh.  9  :  19.) 

Observe,  (1)  God's  way  is  the 
best  way  for  us,  though  it  may  not 
be  the  direct  and  immediate  route 
that  we  would  have  chosen.  (2) 
God's  reasons  are  most  sufficient 
and  personal  to  us,  and  practical 
also,  while  He  has  higher  reasons 
that  He  does  not  now  reveal.  (3) 
God  is  Himself  the  Leader  of  His 
church  and  people  through  the  wil- 
derness. (4)  We  march  to  the  good- 
ly land  of  Promise  according  to  the 
faith  of  those  long  since  departed. 
Their  death  is  therefore  precious  to 
us,  and  we  bear  their  remains  in 
faithful  and  tender  keeping  as  our 
sacred  trust.  (5)  God  indicates  our 
route  by  plain  signals  and  tokens  of 
His  truth  and  mercy  in  Jesus  Christ. 
His  visible  presence  is  made  mani- 
fest to  us,  with  wonderful  adapted 
ness  to  our  case,  in  every  condition 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


121 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


AND  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying, 
2  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  that  they  turn  and 
encamp    before  a  Pi-hahiroth,  between  b  Migdol   and   the   sea, 
over  against  Baalzephon:  before  it  shall  ye  encamp  by  the  sea. 
3  For  Pharaoh  will  say  of  the  children  of  Israel,  c  They  are 
entangled  in  the  land,  the  wilderness  hath  shut  them  in. 


a  Nu.  33: 


b  Je.  44:  1. 


c  Ps.  3:  2;  71:  11:  Je.  20:  10,  11. 


and  relation  of  life,  day  or  night — 
at  home  and  abroad — leading  us  to 
the  better  country,  that  is  the  heav- 
enly. (6)  Christ  the  Angel  of  the 
Covenant  is  as  truly  present  with  us 
and  leading  our  way  as  if  the  pillar 
of  cloud  and  fire  were  the  visible 
signal.  (7)  The  New  Testament 
Passover  is  the  commemoration  of 
the  death  of  Christ  for  us.  The 
New  Testament  Sabbath  is  the 
commemoration  of  the  Life  of 
Christ  for  us,  and  of  the  Risen 
Christ  as  a  Present  Saviour.  (8)  Je- 
sus Christ  is  with  His  ministers  and 
with  His  Church  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

§  31.  God's  Marching  Oedees, 
and  the  puesuit.  ch.  xiv  : 
1-18. 

1,  2.  This  is  now  the  third  day's 
march,  and  the  orders  come  from 
the  Divine  Leader  whose  miraculous 
signal  is  displayed  before  them. 
They  had  come  to  Etham  (ch.  13  : 
20)  for  encampment,  and  now,  at 
the  edge  of  the  wilderness,  was  the 
critical  step  to  be  taken.  They 
would  naturally  have  gone  forward 
towards  the  East,  and  into  the  desert 
witli  the  Sea  on  their  right.  But 
thither  Pharaoh  might  have  pur- 
sued and  overtaken  them  with  his 
chariots.  But  God  has  for  them  a 
different  plan.  They  are  now  or- 
dered to  march  Southward  by  a 
short  turn  from  the  head  of  the  Sea 
and  down  the  Western  shore,  so 
that  they  turn  aside  from  the  direct 

VOL.    I — 6. 


route  with  all  the  disadvantage  of 
having  the  Sea  betwixt  them  and 
their  destination.  This  would  seem 
to  the  natural  reason  to  be  a  '  blun- 
der.' But  the  sequel  will  discover 
the  Divine  plan.  Before  Pihahiroth. 
The  word  means  "  Mouth  oj  the  ra- 
vines"— or  (Stanley)  pastures,  or 
"house  of  wells"  (Sp.  Com.).  This 
is  supposed  by  Sp.  Com.  to  be  the 
same  as  Ajrud — four  hours'  journey 
to  the  N.  W.  of  Suez,  on  the  pilgrim 
route  from  Cairo  to  Mecca.  This 
name  seems  to  be  Egyptian,  mean- 
ing a  marshy  place.  It  is  a  fortress 
with  a  large  well  of  water.  Mig- 
dol— this  name  means  a  tower — and 
was  two  miles  from  Suez.  Some 
take  it  to  denote  a  lofty  mountain 
peak  of  Attakah.  A  triangular 
plain  of  ten  miles  extent  lay  between 
this  and  the  sea,  bounded  by  this 
precipitous  ridge  which  at  the  lower 
end  shoots  into  the  Sea,  and  thus 
shut  them  in.  Over  against  Baal- 
zephon. It  was  by  the  sea.  It  was 
at  least  six  hours'  journey  from 
Etham.  The  camp  would  spread 
over   many  miles.     See  Map. 

3.  For.  The  reason  is  given 
here  for  this  unexpected  order,  that 
Pharaoh  would  look  upon  the 
movement  as  affording  him  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  of  successful 
pursuit  (v.  4).  They  are  entangled 
in  the  land,  so  that  they  cannot  get 
out  of  Egypt.  They  are  now 
hemmed  in,  and  shut  up,  and  cut 
off  from  escape  by  the  sea.  This 
was  Pharaoh's  thought.  The  wilder, 
ness  hath  shut  them  in — or  rather,  is 
closed  to  them.     Or,  the  fear  of  per 


EXODUS. 


4  And  I  will  harden  d  Pharaoh's  heart,  that  he  shall  follow 
after  them;  and  I  will  be  honoured  upon  Pharaoh,  and  upon 
all  his  host;  that  the  Egyptians  may  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 
And  they  did  so. 

5  And  it  was  told  the  king  of  Egypt  that  the  people  fled : 
and  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  and  of  his  servants  was  turned  e 
against  the  people,  and  they  said,  Why  have  we  done  this,  that 
we  have  let  Israel  go  from  serving  us  ? 

6  And  he  made  ready  his  chariot,  and  took  his  people  with 
him : 

V  And  he  took  six  hundred  chosen  chariots  f  and  all  the 
chariots  of  Egypt,  and  captains  over  every  one  of  them. 

d  ch.  4:  21,  &c.        e  Pe.  105:  25.        f  ch.  15:  4. 


ishing  in  the  wilderness  has  turned 
them  aside.  The  Red  Sea  at  that 
time,  probably  extended  north  to  the 
Bitter  Lakes,  at  least. 

4.  Pharaoh  would  thus  be  in- 
duced, freely  in  God's  Providence 
and  from  his  own  judgment  of  the 
case,  to  pursue  them.  Thus  God 
hardens  his  heart  naturally  and 
without  compulsion  by  the  working 
of  his  own  sinful  and  rebellious 
principles.  For  sin  is  itself  the  nat- 
ural and  necessary  punishment  of 
sin.  God  will  he  honored  also  upon 
Pharaoh  by  the  most  signal  dis- 
plays of  His  power  and  glory  before 
the  Egyptian  hosts.  It  would  be  to 
them  a  revelation  of  Himself  as  Je- 
Jwvah,  Redeemer  of  His  people. 
And  they  did  so,  strictly  obeying 
the  Divine  order. 

5.  The  people  fled.  Pharaoh 
may,  up  to  this  time,  have  been  un- 
certain whether  they  would  return 
or  not  after  keeping  a  feast,  as  was 
first  spoken  of.  They  may  have 
had  a  route  marked  out  to  them  by 
Pharaoh,  so  that  this  departure  from 
it  proved  them  to  be  in  night.  How 
soon  he  could  receive  the  intelli- 
gence from  Ethani  is  not  certain. 
JSp.  Com.  thinks  in  less  than  a  day 
— others  suppose  two  days,  and  the 
preparation  for  pursuit  as  much 
more — Keil  thinks  that  we  have 
no  ground  for  supposing  such 
information  being  sent  to  Pharaoh 
of  their  change  of  route,  but  that  his 


movement  for  the  pursuit  was 
prompted  by  his  change  of  feeling 
and  regret  at  letting  them  go.  But 
v.  3  intimates  that  he  was  moved  to 
the  pursuit  by  their  situation,  and 
that  this  was  on  account  of  their 
new  route  by  the  Divine  direction. 
Yet  here  the  narrative  is  more  that 
of  the  monarch's  second  thought  af- 
ter the  people  had  actually  gone  out 
of  their  quarters.  And  if  so,  it  may 
refer  to  Pharaoh's  reflection  on 
the  day  after  their  departure,  so 
soon  as  the  confusion  and  dismay 
of  mourning  their  first-born  had 
ceased.  Was  turned.  Here  is  re- 
consideration, a  regret  at  having 
yielded,  the  self-reproach  at  having 
let  them  go,  and  the  determination 
to  overtake  them. 

6,  7.  Made  ready  (yoked)  his 
chariot— and  took  his  people  (war- 
riors) with  him — six  hundred  chosen 
chariots,  special  and  different  from 
"  the  chariots  of  Egypt" — probably 
his  own  body-guard  —  containing 
the  picked  men  of  his  army,  and 
the  best  equipped — all  the  chariots 
of  Egypt,  which  he  could  then  mus- 
ter in  that  quarter — and  captains, 
commanders,  royal  guard,  over  the 
whole  of  them  —  (not  charioteers). 
The  chariots  were  drawn  by  two 
horses,  and  occupied  by  two  men, 
one  of  whom  was  the  driver  and 
shield-bearer,  and  the  other  was 
armed  with  the  bow,  etc.  These 
are    shown     on     the     monuments. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


123 


8  And  the  Lokd  hardened  the  heart  of  1'haraoh,  king  of 
Egypt,  and  he  pursued  after  the  children  of  Israel:  and  the 
children  of  Israel  went  out  with  an  high  s  hand. 

9  But  the  Egyptians  pursued  after  them  (all  the  horses  and 
chariots  of  Pharaoh,  and  his  horsemen,  and  his  army)  and 
overtook  them  encamping  by  the  sea,  beside  Pi-hahiroth,  before 
Baalzephon. 

10  And  when  Pharaoh  drew  nigh,  the  children  of  Israel 
lifted  up  their  eyes,  and  behold,  the  Egyptians  marched  after 
them;  and  they  were  sore  h  afraid:  and  the  children  of  Israel 
cried  out  unto  the  Lord. 

11  And  they  said  unto  Moses,  Because  there  were  no  graves 


g  Nu.  33:  3;  De. 


h  Jos.  24:7;  Ne.  9:9;  Pe.  34:  17;  10o:44;  107:  G. 


Sometimes  besides  the  driver  there 
were  two  warriors  in  the  chariot. 
In  other  cases  one  drove  and 
fought. 

8.  9.  Hardened.  It  occurred  as 
God  had  said  to  Moses,  v.  4.  God's 
plans  include  the  free  actions  of 
His  creatures,  whether  good  or 
bad.  With  a  high  hand.  That  is 
— of  God — His  power  was  engaged 
for  their  deliverance.  The  his- 
torian throws  in  this  clause  to  show 
that,  whatever  the  thought  of 
Pharaoh,  God  had  him  under  con- 
trol, and  used  him  as  an  instrument 
for  His  purpose,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  children  of  Israel  were 
coming  out  of  Egypt,  with  the  out- 
stretched hand  of  God  engaged  for 
them.  But — notwithstanding  the 
Divine  engagement  for  them — the 
Egyptians  pursued  after  them.  And 
his  horsemen.  It  has  been  doubted 
whether  at  this  time  there  were 
horsemen,  as  cavalry,  in  the  Egyp- 
tian service.  But  Diodorus  Siculus 
states  that  Rameses  II.  had  24,000 
cavalry.  And  Isaiah  refers  to 
horsemen  of  Egypt  in  distinction 
from  chariots  (ch.  31  :  1).  Keil 
remarks  that  God  had  decreed 
this  hardening  of  Pharaoh  to  glori- 
fy Himself  in  the  judgment  and 
death  of  the  pro  ad  king  who  would 
not  honor  Him  in  his  life.  Over- 
took them.  The  troops  of  Pharaoh 
would  reach  the  encampment  in 
much  less  time  than  the  people  of 


Israel — probably  in  a  day  and  a 
half  where  the  Israelites  had  taken 
three  days. 

10.  When  the  Egyptian  hosts 
came  in  sight,  and  the  Israelites 
saw  them  marching  upon  them,  no 
wonder  they  were  sore  afraid.  To 
all  human  view  they  were  most 
perilously  situated.  On  the  East 
was  the  Sea.  On  the  West  and 
South  were  the  high  mountains 
shutting  them  in,  while  their 
armed  foes,  who  had  oppressed 
them,  were  marching  upon  them 
from  the  North.  And  they  so  un- 
prepared for  war.  Could  they  not 
remember  God's  marvellous  work- 
ing in  bringing  them  out  of  Egypt  ? 
Could  they  not  consider  the  tokens 
of  the  Divine  Presence  accom- 
panying them — the  pillar  of  cloud 
and  fire  ?  They  cried  out  unto  the 
Lord — though  they  so  distrusted 
Him  and  evidently  rather  gave  way 
to  despair. 

11.  Because  there  were  no  graves 
at  all  in  Egypt,  hast  thou.  The 
language  is  strong  and  expressive, 
containing  a  double  negative.  Sp. 
Com.  suggests  that  this  taunt  was 
probably  suggested  by  the  vast 
extent  of  cemeteries  in  Egypt, 
which  might  not  improperly  be 
called  the  land  of  tombs.  Hast 
thou  fetched  us  to  die  in  the  desert  ? 
"  It  was  only  when  the  oppression 
increased  that  they  had  hitherto 
complained    of    what    Moses    had 


124 


EXODUS. 


in  Egypt,  hast  thou  taken  us  away  to  die  in  the  wilderness  ? 
Wherefore  hast  thou  dealt  with  us,  to  carry  us  forth  out  of 
Egypt  ? 

12  Is  not  this  the  word  that  we  did  tell  thee  in  i  Egypt, 
saying,  Let  us  alone,  that  we  may  serve  the  Egyptians  ?  'For 
it  had  been  better  for  us  to  serve  the  Egyptians,  than  that  we 
should  die  in  the  wilderness. 

1 3  And  Moses  said  unto  the  people,  Fear  ye  not,  J  stand 
still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord,  which  he  will  shew  to 
you  to-day:  for  the  Egyptians  whom  ye  have  seen  to-day,  ye 
shall  see  them  again  no  more  for  ever. 

14  The  Lord  shall  fight  k  for  you,  and  ye  shall  hold  your 
peace. 

15  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Wherefore  criest  thou 


i  ch.  5:  21;  6:  9.  j  Nu.  14:  9;  De.  20:  3;  2Ki.  6:  16;  2Ch.  20:  15-17;  Ps.  27:  1,  2;  46: 
1-3;  Is.  41:  10-14.  k  De.  1:  30;  3:  22;  20:  4;  Jos.  10:  14;  23:  3-10;  2Ch.  20:  29;  Ne.  4:  20: 
Is.  30:  15. 


done  (ch.  5 :  21),  and  afterwards 
they  obeyed  implicitly  his  direc- 
tions." Keil.  Wherefore.  Thus 
they  complain  bitterly  against  Mo- 
ses in  their  despair,  as  if  he  had 
wilfully  brought  them  into  this 
case. 

12.  This  is  the  exaggerated  as- 
pect in  which  they  put  the  matter. 
They  refer  now  to  their  early 
shrinking  and  misgiving  at  the  lirst 
trial,  and  are  ready  to  say,  "  We 
told  you  so."  How  perfectly  nat- 
ural, yet  how  grossly  unfair  !  They 
evidently  bring  up  this  language 
as  the  suggestion  of  their  present 
cowardice  and  distrust  of  God. 
For  better  for  us,  etc.  This  is  now 
their  clear  conviction,  begotten  of 
their  shameful  unbelief. 

13.  Moses  has  faith  for  the  ex- 
igency, and  he  rallies  the  despair- 
ing people.  He  had  received  such 
assurances  from  God  as  overcame 
his  own  natural  distrust  (v.  4).  It 
was  most  essential  that  he,  their 
appointed  Leader,  should  not  falter 
at  the  critical  moment.  Why 
should  his  faith  fail  ?  Had  not  his 
rod  been  Divinely  successful  to" 
work  wonders  in  all  the  realm  of 
nature,  and  would  he  and  his  peo- 
ple who  had  been  so  delivered  be 
deserted  and  destroyed  now  ?    Fear 


ye  not — stand  still  and  see  the  salva- 
tion of  Jehovah.  Deliverance  was 
to  come  from  without,  and  they 
were  to  stand  still  and  see.  Such 
sublime  composure  in  such  danger 
— the  foe  marching  upon  them, 
the  people  panic-stricken,  and  ready 
to  lay  all  the  blame  upon  him — is 
scarcely  paralleled  in  history. 
What  meekness  under  the  injuri- 
ous denunciations  of  the  people. 
Which  He  will  shew  to  you  to-day. 
So  assured  was  Moses  that  prompt- 
ly as  the  crisis  came  so  promptly 
should  the  deliverance  follow.  For 
the  Egyptians  whom  ye  have  seen  to- 
day, or,  for  as  ye  have  seen  the 
Egyptians  to-day — ye  shall  never 
see  them  as  ye  have  seen  them  to- 
day. He  is  sure,  and  so  he  assures 
them  that  their  foes,  however  dar- 
ing and  confident,  shall  be  utterly 
swept  away.  He  may  have  had 
intimation  of  the  way  in  which 
they  should  be  destroyed. 

14.  Jehovah  shall  fight  for  you. 
The  Almighty  who  had  already  so 
signally  wrought  for  them  would 
undertake  the  battle  on  their  side, 
and  ye  shall  hold  your  peace.  That 
is  ye  shall  have  nothing  to  say,  or 
do  about  it.  It  shall  be  wholly  due 
to  His  Divine  power  and  grace.  Or, 
ye   will  be   silent  and  cease  your 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


125 


unto  me  ?     Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  that   they   go 
forward. 

16  But  lift  thou  up  thy  rod,  and  stretch  out  thy  hand  over 
the  sea,  and  divide  it:  and  the  children  of  Israel  shall  go  on 
dry  ground  through  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

17  And  I,  behold,  I  will  harden  the  hearts  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  they  shall  follow  them:  and  I  will  get  me  honour  upon 
Pharaoh,  and  upon  all  his  host,  upon  his  chariots,  and  upon  his 
horsemen. 

18  And  the  Egyptians  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord, 
when  I  have  gotten  me  honour  upon  Pharaoh,  upon  his  chari- 
ots, and  upon  his  horsemen. 

19  And  the  angel l  of  God  which  went  before  the  camp  of 
Israel,  removed,  and  went  behind  them;  and  the  pillar  of  the 
cloud  went  from  before  their  face,  and  stood  behind  them: 

20  And  it  came  between  the  camp  of  the  Egyptians  and 
the  camp  of  Israel;  and  it  was  a  cloud  and  darkness  to  them, 
but  it  gave  light  by  night  to  these :  so  that  the  one  came  not 
near  the  other  all  the  night. 

1  Nu.  20:  16;  Is.  63:  9. 


complaining1  (Gen.  34  :  5).  (K  &  D.) 

15.  Jehovah  now  replies  to  the 
cry  of  the  people,  and  addressing 
Moses  He  asks :  Wherefore  criest 
thou  unto  me  ?  from  which  it  would 
appear  that  Moses  was  moved  to  cry- 
to  God,  or,  that  he  is  spoken  to  as 
representative  and  head  of  the  peo- 
ple. Yet,  there  is  not  necessarily 
any  rebuke  of  his  prayer,  but  only 
a  call  to  action.  Marching  orders 
are  put  into  his  mouth.  That  they 
go  forward.  The  word  means  to 
break  up — as  an  encampment — to 
set  out,  (2  Kings  19  :  8)  and  it  is 
used  in  v.  19  of  the  Angel  of  God 
removing. 

16.  Moses'  rod  was  now  again  to 
come  into  use  for  the  wonder-work- 
ing power  of  God.  He  was  ordered 
to  lift  up  his  rod  and  stretch  his 
hand  (with  the  rod)  over  the  sea  and 
divide  it  (the  sea).  Here  the  process 
was  explained  by  which  the  deliv- 
erance should  be  effected.  Moses 
was  now  plainly  advertised  of  the 
way  of  escape.  Shall  go  on  dry 
ground  through  the  midst  of  the  sea. 
(See  v.  21,  notes). 


17,  18.  This  is  a  repetition  of  the 
language  in  v.  4,  somewhat  more 
emphasized  and  at  length. 

§  32.   Crossing   the   Red  Sea. — 
Ch.  XIV  :  19-31. 

19.  The  Angel  of  God.  He  (Je- 
hovah) who  went  before  them  in 
these  miraculous  tokens — the  pillar 
of  cloud  and  fire  (See  ch.  13  :  21)— 
removed  and  went  behind  them.  The 
pillar  of  the  cloud  was  here  the  She- 
kinah  or  visible  manifestation  of 
the  Divine  Presence  as  Angel  of 
the  Covenant.  There  was  now  to 
be  a  new  purpose  served  by  the 
miraculous  pillar  —  discriminating 
between  the  Israelites  and  the 
Egyptians  and  effecting  a  separation 
and  barrier  between  the  two — dark 
to  the  Egyptians  but  light  to  Israel 
— and  keeping  them  apart.  "  And 
it  teas  the  cloud  and  the  darkness  (to 
the  Egyptians)  and  lighted  up  the 
night  (to  the  Israelites.) 

21.  Caused  the  sea  to  go  (back)  by 
a  strong  East  wind.  Palmer  in  his 
"  Desert    of     the    Exodus "     saya , 


126 


EXODUS. 


21  And  Moses  stretched  out  his  hand  over  the  sea;  and  the 
Lord  caused  the  sea  to  go  bach  by  a  strong  east  wind  all  that 


"  Two  hours'  ride  (south)  from  Suez 
brought  us  to  Ayun  Musa — or  Mo- 
ses' wells — a  beautiful  little  oasis  iu 
the  desert.  To  the  north  stretches 
a  vast  plain  of  sand,  with  a  long 
chain  of  mountains  bordering  it  on 
the  East.  And  on  the  north-west 
the  bold  promontory  of  Has  Atakah 
overhangs  the  Gulf.  Here  tradition 
places  the  site  of  the  passage  of  the 
Eed  Sea.  And  certain  it  is  that 
within  the  range  over  which  the 
eye  can  wander,  the  waters  must 
have  closed  in  upon  Pharaoh's 
struggling  hosts.  From  the  narra- 
tive in  Exod.  14,  it  would  seem  that 
the  Egyptians  came  upon  them  be- 
fore they  had  rounded  the  head  of 
the  Gulf,  so  as  to  compel  them 
either  to  take  to  the  water  or  to  fall 
into  their  enemies'  hands.  But  nat- 
ural agencies  miraculously  acceler- 
ated are  mentioned  as  the  means 
employed  by  God  in  working  out 
this  signal  deliverance,  and  we  need 
not  therefore  suppose  anything  so 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature  as 
that  the  children  of  Israel  crossed 
between  two  vertical  walls  of  water 
in  the  midst  of  the  deep  sea,  accor- 
ding to  the  popular  mode  of  depict- 
ing the  scene.  (But  see  ch.  15  :  8. 
The  floods  stood  upright  as  an  heap). 
Some  writers  have  imagined  that  a 
great  change  has  taken  place  in  the 
level  of  the  sea  since  the  time  of  the 
Exodus,  but  recent  examination  does 
not  at  all  confirm  this  hypothesis, 
while  there  is  abundant  evidence 
that  the  N.  end  of  the  gulf  of  Suez 
has  been  silted  up  and  that  in  con- 
sequence the  shore  line  has  steadily 
advanced  further  and  further  south- 
wards. It  follows  from  this  that  if, 
according  to  the  view  held  by  many 
modern  authorities,  the  passage 
took  place  at  the  head  of  the  Gulf, 
as  it  existed  at  the  time  of  the  Ex- 
odus, the  Israelites  must  have  cross- 
ed at  a  point  several  miles  north  of 
its  present  limits."  The  Lord  (Je- 
hovah) caused  the  sea  to  go  (back  — 


drove  the  sea — by  a  strong  east  wind 
all  that  night  and  made  the  sea  dry 
(land)  and  the  waters  were  divided. 
Palmer  says,  This  is  no  sudden  di- 
vision of  the  waters,  involving  a 
suspension  of  physical  laws,  though 
to  my  mind  it  is  much  more  won- 
derful as  showing  how  those  laws 
were  subservient  to  the  Divine  pur- 
pose and  will.  A  strong  wind  blow- 
ing from  the  East,  at  the  moment 
of  the  setting  in  of  the  ebb  tide, 
might  so  drive  back  the  waters, 
that,  towards  the  sea,  they  would  be 
some  feet  higher  than  on  the  shore 
side.  Such  a  phenomenon  is  fre- 
quently observed  in  lakes  and  in- 
land seas,  and  if  there  were,  as 
there  would  very  likely  be  at  the 
head  of  the  Gulf,  any  inequality  in 
the  bed  of  the  sea  or  any  cbain 
of  sand-banks  dividing  the  upper 
part  of  the  Gulf  into  two  basins, 
that  portion  might  be  blown  dry 
and  a  path  very  soon  be  left  with 
water  on  either  side.  As  the  part- 
ing of  the  sea  was  caused  by  an 
East  w«£nd,  the  sudden  veering  of 
this  wind  to  the  opposite  quarter  at 
the  moment  of  the  return  tide 
would  bring  the  waters  back  with 
unusual  rapidity.  This  seems  to 
have  been  actually  the  case,  for  we 
find  that  the  waters  returned,  not 
with  a  sudden  rush,  overwhelming 
the  Egyptians  at  once,  but  gradual- 
ly and  at  first,  as  we  might  expect 
saturating  the  sand  so  that  "  it  took 
off  their  chariot  wheels  that  they 
drave  them  heavily  ."  But  (1)  the 
sand  bars  run  N.  and  S.  And  (2)  this 
explanation  does  not  suit  the  narra- 
tive (v.  22).  Keil  reads — And  th-e 
water  split  itself  (i.  e..  divided  bv 
flowing  northward  and  southward, 
and  the  Israelites  went  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea)  where  the  waters  had  been 
driven  away  by  the  wind)  on  the  dry 
ground)  and  the  watt  r  was  a  trail  (i.e. 
a  protection  formed  by  the  damming 
up  of  the  water)  on  the  right  and  on 
the  left.      The   East  is  a  general 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


127 


night,  and  made  the  sea  m  dry  land,  and  the  waters  were  di- 
vided. 

22  And  the  children  of  Israel  went  into  the  midst  n  of  the 
sea  upon  the  dry  ground:  and  the  waters  were  a  wall  unto 
them  on  their  right  hand,  and  on  their  left. 


in  Jos.  3:  16;  4:  23;  Ps. 


n  ICo.  10:  1;  He.  11: 


term  including  north-east  and 
south-east,  as  the  Hebrews  had  only 
four  points  of  the  compass.  Wheth- 
er the  wind  blew  directly  from  the 
East  or  from  the  south-east  or 
north-east,  cannot  be  determined, 
as  we  do  not  know  the  exact  spot 
where  the  passage  was  made.  In 
any  case  the  division  of  the  water 
in  both  directions  could  have  been 
effected  only  by  an  East  wind.  And 
although  even  now  the  ebb  is 
strengthened  by  a  north-east  wind, 
as  Tischendorf  says,  and  the  flood 
is  driven  so  much  to  the  south  by  a 
strong  north-west  wind  that  the 
Gulf  can  be  ridden  through  and 
even  forded  on  foot  to  the  north  of 
Suez,  (and  as  a  rule  the  rise  and  fall 
of  the  water  in  the  Arabian  Gulf  is 
nowhere  so  dependent  upon  the 
wind  as  in  Suez)  yet  the  drying  of 
the  sea  as  here  described,  cannot  be 
accounted  for  by  an  ebb  strength- 
ened by  the  east  wind,  because  the 
water  is  all  driven  southward  in  the 
ebb,  and  not  sent  in  the  opposite 
direction.  Such  a  division  could 
only  be  produced  by  a  wind  sent  by 
God,  and  working  by  Omnipotent 
force,  in  connection  with  which  the 
natural  force  of  the  ebb  may  no 
doubt  have  exerted  a  subordinate 
influence.  We  can  see  the  ground 
of  the  legend  which  arose  among 
the  people  of  that  neighborhood 
and  which  was  found  even  at  Mem- 
phis, that  the  Israelites  took  advan- 
tage of  a  strong  ebb  to  make  the 
passage.  See  Keil  and  note.  And 
it  has  been  attempted  thus  to 
explain  all  the  phenomena  with- 
out anything  supernatural.  But  the 
view  of  Keil  is  surely  more  ac- 
cordant with  the  record,  and  with 
all  the  plain  facts  of  the  case  as 


thus  recited.  The  route  is  given  in 
the  annexed  Map,  showing  the  prob- 
able extent  of  the  Red  Sea  north  of 
its  present  bed,  in  the  time  of  Moses. 
This  is  the  finding  of  the  most  re- 
cent survey  of  Captains  Wilson  and 
Palmer,  of  the  Royal  Engineers. 
Thus  the  tongue  of  the  Egyptian 
Sea  has  been  dried  up,  as  was  pre- 
dicted (Isa.  11  :  15).  Dr.  Olin,  who 
travelled  over  the  route,  disputes 
the  Suez  passage,  as  being  too  nar- 
row for  the  Egyptian  host,  and  too 
shallow  to  engulph  them  so  sudden- 
ly. He  decides  for  the  extremity  of 
Mt.  Attaka  where  the  sea  is  10  or 
12  miles  wide,  and  where  there  is 
a  wide  triangular  plain  bounded  by 
the  sea  and  the  mountain  and  the 
desert,  and  broad  enough  for  the 
two  armies. — Olin's  Travels. 

Doubtless  quite  beyond  the  ut- 
most that  could  have  occurred  by  a 
strong  wind  and  the  ebb  of  the  tide, 
there  was  a  supernatural  agency 
using  also  the  natural  force  super- 
naturally,  and  causing  a  mighty  East 
wind  to  scoop  out  the  waters  so  as 
to  hollow  out  a  passage,  and  make 
the  waves  recede  on  either  side  (N. 
and  S.)  as  walls.  This  is  the  record. 
And  we  have  no  reason  to  evade  the 
miraculous  agency  which  so  plainly 
appears.  (Ps.  114 :  3.)  The  sea 
stood  as  heaps.  If  the  East  wind 
only  blew  tlie  water  back,  it  would 
have  swept  over  the  camp.  We 
must  suppose  a  huge  trough  made 
in  the  sea  exposing  the  dry  bed, 
dry  enough  to  cross.  If  the  waters 
were  only  blown  back  to  the  South 
it  must  have  been  a  North  wind, 
and  there  could  have  been  no  heap- 
ing up  on  both  sides. 

22.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
went  into  the  midst  of  the  sea  upon 


128  EXODUS. 

23  And  the  Egyptians  pursued,  and  went  in  after  them,  to 
the  midst  of  the  sea,  even  all  Pharaoh's  horses,  his  chariots,  and 
his  horsemen. 

24  And  it  came  to  pass  that  in  the  morning  watch  the 
Lord  looked  unto  the  host  of  the  Egyptians  through  the  pillar 
of  fire  and  of  the  cloud,  and  troubled  the  host  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, 

25  And  took  off  their  chariot-wheels  that  they  drave  them 


the  dry  (ground)  and  the  icaters 
(were)  a  wall  unto  them  an  their 
right  hand  and  on  their  left.  And 
this  came  from  the  miraculous  di- 
vision of  the  waters*  It  must  con- 
tinue long  enough  for  this  vast 
multitude  of  two  and  a  half  millions 
and  their  cattle  to  get  across.  K. 
and  D.  suppose  that  they  might 
have  entered  upon  the  passage  at 
nine  in  the  evening  and  continued 
until  the  morning  dawn,  4  or  5 
o'clock  (see  v.  27).  Robinson  says, 
the  result  "  was  wrought  by  natural 
means  supernaturally  applied."  But 
the  effort  has  been  made  to  minimize 
the  supernatural  so  as  virtually  to 
dispense  with  it.  But  this  is  vain. 
God  is  displaying  Himself  to  Pha- 
raoh and  to  all  men  as  above  all  the 
processes  of  nature.  The  laws  of 
nature  only  prove  a  Lawgiver  be- 
hind them  and  in  them  and  in  their 
operation. 

23.  The  Egyptians  pursued. 
They  followed  closely  and  were  in- 
tercepted only  by  the  miraculous 
pillar — and  could  not  fully  see 
ahead  of  them — but  pressed  on  in 
the  pursuit.  They  "  were  therefore 
in  the  midst  of  the  Sea  when  the 
rear  of  the  Israelites  had  reached 
the  opposite  shore."  At  the  nar- 
rowest point  above  Suez  the  Sea  is 
now  only  3450  feet  broad.  The 
crossing  must  have  been  at  a  much 
broader  point  than  it  is — as  it  for- 
merly was  broader  than  this  here  no 
doubt,  and  is  now  broader  opposite 
Kolzum.  But  to  have  the  Sea  en- 
gulph  the  Egyptian  army  of  more 
than  six  hundred  chariots  and 
many  horsemen,  requires  a  greater 
breadth.     The  madness  of  the  pur- 


suit left  no  room  for  consideration, 
and  the  pillar  of  cloud  gave  them 
little  opportunity  to  see  whither 
-they  were  rushing,  except  that  they 
were  following  the  foe.  Murphy 
remarks  "  that  at  the  base  of  Jebel 
Attakah,  where  the  crossing  proba- 
bly occurred,  the  Sea  is  at  least  six 
or  seven  miles  wide.  If  the  dry 
ground  were  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
broad,  the  Israelites  would  form  a 
column  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  rank 
and  a  mile  in  file.  Such  a  body 
might  cross  a  channel  of  six  miles 
in  six  hours,  and  might  easily  de- 
camp, set  out,  and  reach  the  oppo- 
site bank  in  eight  hours." 

24.  In  the  morning  watch.  They 
had  two  watches  for  the  passage,  or 
eight  hours.  About  sunrise,  which 
at  this  season  of  April  was  a  little 
before  six  o'clock.  And  Jehovah 
looked  at  the  army  of  the  Egyptians 
in  with  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire. 
This  look  of  Jehovah  may  have  been 
a  lightning  flash  darting  from  the 
cloud — with  a  storm  of  thunder  and 
rain — confounding  the  Egyptians 
and  throwing  them  into  dismay  and 
panic.  (See  Ps.  77  :  17, 18.)  Jose- 
phus  also  describes  the  scene  as  full 
of  terrible  phenomena — lightning 
and  thunder  and  rain,  an  elemental 
war.  And  troubled  the  host.  Drove 
them  into  consternation. 

25.  And  took  off  the  wheels  of  his 
(the  Egyptian's)  chariot — made  them 
give  way.  This  would  readily  re- 
sult from  the  panic,  driving  upon 
each  other,  and  in  the  attempt  to  es- 
cape for  life,  sinking  the  wheels  in 
the  sea-bed  so  that  they  would 
break  off,  or  drive  heavily — and 
caused  that  he  drove  with  difficulty. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


129 


heavily:  so  that  the  Egyptians  said,  Let  us  flee  from  the  face 
of  Israel;  for  the  Lord  fighteth  for  them  against  the  Egyptians. 
2G  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Stretch  out  thine  hand 
over  the  sea,  that  the  waters  may  come  again  upon  the  Egyp- 
tians, upon  their  chariots,  and  upon  their  horsemen. 

27  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his  hand  over  the  sea,  and 
the  sea  returned  to  his  strength  when  the  morning  appeared; 
and  the  Egyptians  fled  against  it;  and  the  Lord  overthrew  the 
Egyptians  in  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

28  And  the  waters  returned,  and  covered  °  the  chariots,  and 
the  horsemen,  and  all  the  host  of  Pharaoh  that  came  into  the 
sea  after  them:  there  remained  not  so  much  as  one  of  them. 


o  ch.  15:  10;  Ps.  78:  53;  106:  11. 


This  sudden  and  awful  reverse  ex- 
torted from  the  bewildered  host  of 
Egypt  the  cry  Let  us  flee  from  the 
face  of  Israel,  for  Jehovah  fighteth 
for  them.  As  Moses  assured  the  Is- 
raelites it  would  be,  so  their  enemies 
confess  it  has  come  to  pass. 

26.  The  covenant  people  are  now 
safe.  Their  enemies  who  are  in  hot 
pursuit  are  now  to  be  destroyed. 
God  has  planned  the  minutest  re- 
sult. The  miracle  is  manifest  here 
again  (1)  in  that  the  rod  of  Moses, 
which  had  in  itself  no  power,  was 
the  signal  for  the  return  of  the  wa- 
ters, (2)  in  that  these-  waters  should 
flow  back  at  the  signal,  just  at  the 
moment  to  accomplish  the  drowning 
of  the  Egyptians  when  they  were  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea.  It  is  idle  to 
attempt  any  such  explanation  of  the 
record  as  will  dispense  with  the  mi- 
raculous in  these  phenomena,  any 
more  than  in  the  former.  To  sup- 
pose here  only  "a  sudden  veering  of 
the  wind  at  the  moment  of  the  re- 
turn tide,"  without  any  miracle,  is 
to  presume  upon  such  a  combination 
of  circumstances  as  would  imply  a 
miracle,  even  if  that  would  present 
all  the  necessary  conditions  of  such 
a  result  as  followed.  Yet  God 
pleased  to  use  natural  forces  super- 
naturally  and  extraordinarily  for 
this  express  purpose.  Foster  reads 
inscriptions  on  the  Rocks  at  Sinai 
thus  "  Turned  into  dry  land  the  Sea, 
the  Hebrews  flee  through  the  Sea." 

6* 


The  record  is  plainly  intended  to 
convey  the  impression  of  the  same 
miraculous  power  here  as  in  all  the 
plagues  visited  upon  Egypt.  The 
time  for  the  continuance  of  the  ebb 
tide  would  not  have  been  long 
enough  to  effect  the  passage.  But 
the  miracle  was  in  force  all  the 
night.  The  wind  did  its  work 
promptly  and  made  the  passage  at 
once,  not  by  long  blowing,  so  that 
they  could  begin  the  march  at  eve- 
ning and  continue  it  till  morning. 
"  Thou  didst  divide  the  Sea  by  thy 
strength  "  (Ps.  74  :  13,  14). 

27.  The  Sea  returned  to  his 
strength,  rather  to  his  permanent 
place,  at  the  approach  (or  dawning) 
of  the  morning  and  the  Egyptians 
were  flying  to  meet  it,  in  the  face  of 
it,  as  it  rushed  upon  them  from  the 
West,  in  their  return.  And  Jehovah 
shook  out  the  Egyptians,  hurled 
them  from  their  chariots,  in  the 
midst  of  the  Sea  (Ps.  136  :  15). 

28.  The  complete  destruction  by 
the  over-rushing  waters  is  here  re- 
corded. Some  maintain  that  it  is 
nowhere  said  that  Pharaoh  perished. 
But  all  perished  who  pursued  the 
Israelites  into  the  Sea.  And  in 
Egypt  it  was  customary  for  the 
King  to  lead  his  armies  in  war.  And 
it  is  said  in  the  Psalm  (136  :  15)  that 
Pharaoh  was  overthrown  in  the  Sea 
along  with  his  army,  where  the 
same  verb  is  used  as  here.  "  But 
shook  out    Pharaoh  and  his  host  in 


130 


EXODUS 


29  But  the  children  of  Israel  walked  upon  dry  land  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea ;  and  the  waters  icere  a  wall  unto  them 
on  their  right  hand,  and  on  their  left. 

30  Thus  the  Lord  saved  Israel  that  day  out  of  the  hand 
of  the  Egyptians:  and  Israel  saw  the  Egyptians  dead  upon  the 
sea-shore, 

31  And  Israel  saw  that  great  work  which  the  Lord  did 
upon  the  Egyptians:  and  the  people  feared  the  Lord,  and  be- 
lieved p  the  Lord,  and  his  servant  Moses. 

p   ch.  19:  9;  Jno.  2:  11;  11:  45. 


the  Red  Sea."  The  blow  was  there- 
fore most  stunning  to  the  Egyptians, 
and  there  was  no  recovery  for  them 
to  continue  the  pursuit.  Not  so 
much  as  one  of  them  was  left  (Ps. 
106:  11). 

29.  The  contrast  in  case  of  the 
Israelites  was  most  miraculous. 
The  walking  on  dry  land  across 
where  their  enemies  were  overtaken 
by  the  returning  floods  and  drowned, 
and  the  waters  serving  them  as 
walls  right  and  left,  north  and 
south,  for  their  safe  passage — these 
items  are  repeated  for  emphasis. 
The  facts  are  clearly  historical,  and 
are  plainly  befitting  the  whole 
record,  and  are  every  way  appro- 
priate to  the  case.  We  are  to  re- 
member that  God  is  supernatural, 
and  to  Him  the  supernatural  is  nat- 
ural, however  difficult  it  be  to  us  to 
conceive. 

30.  Thus.  This  is  the  history  of 
the  salvation  of  Israel  that  day,  says 
the  historian.  The  effect  upon  Is- 
rael is  recorded.  They  saw  their 
enemies  dead  upon  the  sea-shore, 
their  corpses  swept  upon  the  beach 
by  the  angry  waters. 

31.  And  Israel  saw  the  great  work 
(lit.,  that  great  hand)  which  Jehovah 
did — the  great  power  which  He  dis- 
played "  with  a  strong  hand,  and 
with  a  stretched-out  arm — upon  the 
Egyptians.  And  the  people  (Israel- 
ites) feared  Jehovah  and  believed  Je- 
hovah ajid  His  servant  Moses.  It 
was  thus  that,  as  Paul  says,  "  they 
were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the 
cloud  and  in  the  sea  "  (1  fJor.  10 :  2) 


that  is — now  at  the  very  outstart 
and  on  the  threshold  of  their  wil- 
derness journey  they  were,  by  this 
grand  deliverance,  as  by  a  sacra- 
mental ordinance,  solemnly  conse- 
crated and  obligated  to  Moses  in  a 
public  confession  of  him  as  a  typical 
Mediator,  and  thus  sworn  to  "obedi- 
ence as  members  of  the  church  un- 
der the  Mosaic  economy.  So  also 
Jehovah  as  He  had  said,  had  gotten 
glory  upon  Pharaoh,  who  would  not 
glorify  Him  by  an  obedient  life 
and  so  must  glorify  Him  by  a  penal 
and  awful  death.  Moses  must  be 
believed  in  as  Leader  and  Mediator 
for  the  people,  and  these  results 
were  well  worthy  of  the  miraculous 
demonstration. 

Lessons.  (1)  In  the  greatest  straits 
we  are  to  stand  still  and  see  the  sal- 
vation of  God.  Our  salvation  does 
not  come  by  our  utmost  action,  but 
by  our  implicit  trust  in  Christ's  re- 
demption. (2)  Our  enemies  are 
Christ's  enemies  also,  and  He  has 
undertaken  to  fight  for  us.  (3) 
Where  God  bids  us  go  forward,  He 
will  make  a  way  for  us  through  all 
obstacles.  (4)  All  nature  and  its 
forces  and  elements  are  under  the 
control  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour, 
and  He  can  make  them  subserve  our 
interest  and  His  design  of  grace.  (5) 
By  faith  it  is  that  we  can  cross  any 
sea  as  on  dry  land,  (Heb.  11  :  29.) 
and  unbelievers  and  enemies  of 
Christ  madly  attempting  the  same 
are  drowned  in  destruction  and  per- 
dition. (6)  God  puts  Himself  be- 
tween His  people  and  their  enemies. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


131 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THEN  sang  a  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  this  song  unto 
the  Lord,  and  spake,  saying,  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for 

a  Ju.  5:  1;  2Sa.  22:  1;  Ps.  106:  12. 


The  glorious  Shekinah — a  cloud,  in- 
deed, but  luminous  with  the  Divine 
glory— must  be  gotten  through  by 
the  enemy  before  we  can  be  reach- 
ed. And  what  foes  can  make  their 
way  through  God  Himself  ?  (7)  We 
pass  "  under  the  cloud "  and 
"  through  the  sea "  to  be  baptized 
into  our  New  Testament  Moses — 
Leader,  Lawgiver,  Mediator,  Teach- 
er. But  in  every  cloud  let  us  see 
the  Divine  glory  therein  revealed — 
the  Personal  Shekinah.  And  through 
every  sea,  even  the  cold  flood  of 
death,  we  can  go  on  dry  land — and 
on  foot  —  while  the  enemies  of 
Christ — armed  and  driving  in  their 
chariots  defying  God  and  the  church 
and  the  truth — are  drowned  !  "  He 
turned  the  sea  into  dry  (land).  They 
went  through  the  flood  on  foot — 
there  did  we  rejoice  in  Him  (Ps.  66  : 
6).  The  conjunction  of  the  cloud 
with  the  sea  suggests  that  in  these 
words  there  may  be  a  literal  refer- 
ence to  the  spray  which  might  fall 
upon  the  people  from  the  over-can- 
opying cloud,  and  from  the  liquid 
walls  on  their  right  hand  and  their 
left." 

"  Guide  me,  O  Thou  great  Jehovah, 
Pilgrim  thro1  this  barren  laud! 
I  am  weak,  but  Thou  art  mighty- 
Hold  me  with  Thy  powerful  hand. 
Bread  of  Heaven, 
Feed  me  till  I  want  no  more. 

Open  now  the  crystal  fountain 
Whence  the  healing  streams  do  flow, 
Let  the  fiery,  cloudy  pillar 
Lead  me  all  my  journey  through. 

Strong  Deliverer, 
Be  Thou  still  my  strength  and  shield." 

CHAPTER  XV. 

§  33.  Review — Triumphal  Song. 
Ch.  XV.  1-21. 

"The  birthdav  of    Israel  — the 


birthday  of  the  religion  of  the  na- 
tion of  Israel,  was  the  passage  of 
the  Red  Sea.  No  baser  thoughts, 
no  disturbing  influences  could  mar 
the  overwhelming  sense  of  thank- 
fulness with  which,  as  if  after  a 
hard- won  battle,  the  nation  found  its 
voice  in  the  first  Hebrew  melody, 
in  the  first  burst  of  national  poetry, 
when  Moses  and  the  children  of  Is- 
rael met  on  the  Arabian  shore  ;  met 
Miriam  the  Prophetess,  the  sister  of 
Aaron  the  third  member,  the  eldest 
born  of  that  noble  family,  whose 
name  now  first  appears  in  the  histo- 
ry of  the  church,  afterwards  to  be- 
come so  renowned  through  its  Gre- 
cian and  European  form  of  Maria 
and  Mary." — Stanley. 

The  sea  safely  crossed,  the  ene- 
mies drowned  in  the  depths  where 
they  had  passed  safely  through, 
what  wonder  that  Moses  and  the  peo- 
ple express  themselves  in  song.  This 
is  the  most  ancient  poem  for  sink- 
ing. The  sublimity  of  the  senti- 
ment, and  the  elevation  and  grand- 
eur of  the  diction,  have  made  it  the 
admiration  of  the  most  cultivated 
minds.  In  all  the  circumstances  it 
is  impossible  to  account  for  it  as 
from  the  unaided  genius  of  Moses. 
It  is  the  language  of  Divine  inspira- 
tion— the  word  of  God  in  the  very 
words  of  man.  Moses  was  prompted 
and  enabled,  on  this  grand  occasion, 
to  compose  this  song  for  the  people's 
thanksgiving.  And  in  the  true 
spirit  of  devotion  it  extols  no  human 
power  nor  prowess,  but  Jehovah  alone 
is  exalted.  The  song  of  Moses,  the 
servant  of  God,  is  to  be  sung  along 
with  the  Song  of  the  Lamb,  when 
the  triumphant  Church  of  all  the 
ages  shall  have  crossed  the  sea  of 
death,  and  all  the  enemies  of  God 
and  His  Christ  shall  have  been  de- 
stroyed.      (Rev.   15  :  3.)      Modern 


132 


EXODUS. 


he  hath  triumphed  gloriously:  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he 
thrown  into  the  sea. 

2  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  b  song,  and  he  is  become 
my  salvation  :  he  is  my  God,  and  I  will  prepare  him  an  c  habi- 
tation; my  father's  God,  and  I  will  exalt  him. 

3  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  d  war :  the  Lord  is  his  name. 


b  Ps.  IS:  2;  27:  1;  62 

10:  11. 


6;  118:  14;  Is.  12:  2.      c  IKi.  8:  13-27.    d  Ps.  24:  8;  45:  3:  Re. 


criticism  staggers  at  the  prophetic 
passages  in  vs.  1G,  17,  simply  on  the 
assumption  that  prophecy  is  impos- 
sible. But  on  the  same  ground 
Moses'  history  and  mission  must  be 
denied,  and  all  the  supernatural  dis- 
plays .of  God's  power  in  Egypt  must 
be  set  aside  as  unhistorical.  "  If 
ever  there  was  a  crisis  calculated  to 
elicit  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  it  was 
that  of  the  Exodus.  If  ever  a  man 
was  fitted  to  express  that  spirit  it 
was  Moses.  Even  objectors  admit 
that  Moses  contemplated  the  inva- 
sion of  Palestine  ;  if  so  what  more 
natural  than  that,  after  the  great 
catastrophe,  which  they  accept  as 
an  historical  fact,  he  should  antici- 
pate the  terror  of  the  nations  through 
whose  territories  the  Israelites  would 
pass,  and  whose  destruction  was  an 
inevitable  condition  of  their  success? 
In  every  age  this  song  gave  the  tone 
to  the  poetry  of  Israel,  especially  at 
great  critical  epochs  of  deliverance." 
Sp.  Com.  There  are  three  sections 
of  the  song,  each  headed  with  an 
outburst  of  praise  to  God.  (1)  vs.  1-5. 
(2)6-10.     (3)11-18. 

1.  Then  sang;  lit.,  Then  will 
sing  Moses,  etc.  Sing  will  I  to  Jeho- 
vah, for  gloriously  glorious  is  He  ; 
horse,  and  h*s  rider  He  hath  cast  into 
the  sea.  The  sense  is,  Most  highly, 
supremely  exalted  above  all.  poten- 
tates is  He — all  the  pride  and  pomp 
of  Egypt's  greatness  He  hath  hurled 
into  the  sea.  The  cavalry  and  char- 
ioteers are  both  included. 

2.  My  strength  and  song  is  Jah, 
and  He  is  become  my  salvation.  Heb. 
He  is  to  me  for  salvation.  The 
name  Jah  is  especially  associated 
with  victory  by  the   Psalmist  (Ps. 


68 :  4).  It  was  doubtless  chosen 
here  by  Moses  to  draw  attention  to 
the  promise  ratified  by  the  name 
I  AM.  It  is  the  abbreviation  oiJahveh 
— Jehovah,  and  conveys  the  same 
idea.  It  is  God's  Redemptive  name 
— as  moving  and  manifesting  Him- 
self in  the  sphere  of  Redemption. 
This  Jah  is  extolled  as  having  been 
the  strong  resource  of  Israel,  and  as 
being  the  object  of  their  joyous 
thanksgiving  —  as  their  Deliverer 
and  Saviour.  So  Moses  had  bidden 
them  "  stand  still  and  see  the  salva- 
tion of  God."  He  is  my  God,  lit., 
Ihis  one,  or,  This  Jah  is  my  God, 
and  I  will  prepare  Him  a  habitation 
— rather,  I  will  glorify  Him ,  as  the 
word  in  this  form  means.  The  verb 
is  so  rendered  in  other  versions,  and 
our  English  is  here  at  fault,  repre- 
senting Moses  as  having  in  mind  to 
build  a  temple  for  God.  My  father's 
God ;  Abraham's,  as  father  of  the 
Jewish  people,  the  covenant  God, 
who  had  now  signally'  fulfilled  His 
promise.     Gen.  15  :  14 ;  46  :  3,  4. 

3.  Jehovah  is  a  man  of  war.  So 
directly  is  all  the  honor  ascribed 
to  God  as  a  great  Conqueror,  so 
proved  in  this  victory  which  is  not 
man's,  but  God's.  (See  Ps.  24  :  8.) 
All  warlike  prowess  is  concentrated 
in  Him,  as  one  who  knows  how  to 
battle  and  conquer.  Jehovah  is  His 
name.  So  God  displays  Himself  in 
His  Redemptive  capacity,  and  makes 
Himself  known  as  Jehovah,  beyond 
all  previous  manifestations  of  Him- 
self in  history.     Let  Him  be  adored. 

4.  Pharaoh's  chariots.  Here  is 
the  burden  of  the  song.  This  is  the 
glorious  achievement :  And  his  host 

I  (military  host)  He  hath  hurled  into 


CHAPTER  XV. 


138 


4  Pharaoh's  chariots  and  his  host  hath  he  cast  into  the  sea: 
his  chosen  captains  also  are  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea. 

5  The  depths  have  covered  them:  they  sank  into  the  bot- 
tom as  a  stone. 

6  Thy  right  hand,  e  O  Lord,  is  become  glorious  in  power: 
thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  hath  dashed  in  pieces  the  enemy. 

7  And  in  the  greatness  of  thine  f  excellency  thou  hast 
overthrown  them  that  rose  up  against  thee:  thou  sentest  forth 
thy  wrath,  which  consumed  them  e  as  stubble. 

8  And  with  the  blast  of h  thy  nostrils  the  waters  were 
gathered  together:  the  floods  stood  upright  as  an  heap,  and 
the  depths  were  congealed  in  the  heart  of  the  sea. 


e  Ps.  118:  15-16.     f  De.  33:  26;  Ps.  68:  33.     g  Ps.  59:  13;  Is.  5:  24;  47:  14;  Mat.  3:  12. 
h  2Sa.  22:  16;  Job  4:  9;  2Th.  2:  8. 


the  sea,  and  the  chosen  ones  (the 
choice)  of  his  commanders  (see  ch. 
14 :  7)  are  drowned  in  the  Bed  Sect. 
The  officers  of  highest  rank — the 
royal  guard,  as  body  guard  of  Pha- 
raoh— are  drowned  !  ovemchelmed  in 
the  rushing  floods. 

5.  The  depths,  lit.,  Floods  cover- 
ed them.  They  sank  in  the  abysses 
like  a  stone — dead  weight — to  the 
very  bottom — and  no  recovery.  As 
if  millstones  had  been  hung  around 
their  necks,  they  were  drowned  in 
the  depths  of  the  sea.  Handel's 
great  Oratorio  of  "  Israel  in  Egypt " 
gives  the  grandest  musical  expres- 
sion to  this  song.  The  writer  can 
never  forget  the  rendering  of  it  by 
5,000  performers  in  the  Sydenham 
Palace  at  London,  at  the  Handel  fes- 
tival, in  1865.  Such  impassioned 
passages  as  this  verse  10th  were  ex- 
pressed with  overwhelming  power. 
— The  warriors  were  dressed  with 
heavy  coats  of  mail,  plates  of  fine 
bronze  reaching  nearly  to  the  elbows 
and  the  knees. 

6.  Here  the  outburst  of  praise 
begins  another  passage,  the  second 
triplet — Thy  right  hand — the  "  high 
hand  "  and  strong  hand  of  Jehovah 
all  along  referred  to  as  the  effective 
power  in  their  deliverance — is  be- 
come glorious — "  glorified  in  power  " 
(K.  &  D.) — gloriously  equipped  with 
power.  The  right  hand  of  Jehovah 
has  its  most  glorious  exhibition  of 


power  in  this  overthrow  of  His  ene- 
mies. Thy  right  hand,  0  Jehovah, 
shall  dash  in  pieces  the  enemy — as 
here  His  ability  is  proved  to  demol- 
ish all  His  enemies  in  all  the  fu- 
ture. 

7.  And  in  the  greatness  (abund- 
ance) of  thy  majesty  (glory)  thou  shalt 
pull  down  thine  opponents.  Thou 
shalt  send  forth  thy  wrath — it  shall 
devour  them  as  stubble.  The  force 
of  the  future  tense  in  these  pas- 
sages is,  that  Jehovah  has  so  abund- 
antly proved  His  power  over  His  foes 
as  to  make  it  certain  for  all  the  fu- 
ture. Reference  may  be  here  to  the 
flash  from  the  pillar  (ch.  14  :  24). 

8.  And  by  the  breath  of  thy  nos- 
trils, lit.,  with  the  wind  of  thy 
wrath.  The  demolishing  power  is 
described  as  going  forth  from  the 
very  Presence  of  Jehovah.  It  was 
from  the  Shekinah,  or  visible  mani- 
festation of  the  Divine  Presence  in 
the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire.  The 
reference  is  here  in  high  poetic 
phrase  to  the  east  wind  (ch.  14 :  21). 
Ps.  18:16;  Job.  4:9;  2  Thes.  2  :  8. 
Anger  inflating  the  nostrils,  so  that 
the  same  word  has  the  meaning  of 
anger,  or  wrath,  and  nostril — and  the 
same  other  word  meaning  breath  and 
wind.  The  icaters  heaped  themselves 
up,  or  were  gathered  up — piled  up  as 
walls.  The  floods  stood  upright  as 
an  heap.  K.  &  D.  render — The  flow- 
ing ones  (floods)  stood  up  like  a  heap. 


134 


EXODUS. 


9  The  enemy  said,  I  will  pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I  will 
divide  the  spoil;  my  lust  shall  be  satisfied  upon  them;  I  will 
draw  my  sword,  my  hand  shall  destroy  them. 

10  Thou  didst  blow  with  thy  *  wind,  the  sea  covered  them; 
they  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters. 

11  Who  is  like  J  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  among  the  gods  ?  who 
is  like  thee,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing  won- 
ders ? 


i  ch.  14:  21;  Ps.  147:  18. 


j  Is.  40:  18. 


Great  stress  is  laid  upon  this  pheno- 
menon, which  constituted  the  mira- 
cle. The  floods  which  would  other- 
wise have  had  their  natural  flow 
were  massed  and  stood  upright  as 
solid  walls.  It  is  idle  to  try  and  ex- 
plain away  the  miraculous  features, 
and  make  it  a  mere  extraordinary 
ebbing  of  the  tide  by  the  means  of  a 
strong  east  wind.  This  could  not 
explain  the  standing  up  and  walling 
of  the  waters  on  the  right  hand  and 
on  the  left  for  the  passage  across. 
The  depths  were  congealed  (stiffened 
and  piled  up  as  solid  masses)  in  the 
heart  of  the  sea.  This  expresses  the 
phenomenon,  quite  another  thing 
from  a  blowing  back  of  the  tide. 
Besides  this,  the  effect  of  a  strong 
east  wind,  if  it  did  not  drive  the 
waters  right  and  left,  and  scoop  out 
a  path  on  the  bare  sea-bed,  must 
have  been  to  drive  the  floods  directly 
we&tward  upon  the  camp  of  Israel 
as  a  huge  tidal  wave. 

9.  This  abrupt  and  impassioned 
series  of  utterances  gives  a  most 
vivid  conception  of  the  infuriated 
and  maddened  foe.  "  The  haste,  cu- 
pidity, and  ferocity  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, the  reckless  determination  and 
headlong  pursuit,  are  described  in 
terms  recognized  by  critics  of  all 
schools,  as  belonging  to  the  highest 
order  of  poetry,  and  enable  us  to  re- 
alize the  feelings  which  induced 
Pharaoh  and  his  host  to  pursue  the 
Israelites." — Sp.  Com.  My  lust,  lit., 
My  soul  shall  be  filled  with  them.  I 
will  draw  my  sword — my  Jiand  shall 
dispossess  (exterminate)  them — or  re- 
possess them — bring  them  back  to 
slavery. 


10.  So  sudden  and  overwhelming 
was  the  blow — so  awful  was  the  re- 
verse and  the  dismay.  Thou  didst 
blow  with  thy  wind — thy  breath — the 
blast  of  the  breath  of  thy  nostrils. 
"  Whom  the  Lord  shall  consume 
with  the  breath  of  His  mouth  " — (2 
Thess.  2 :  8).  "One  breath  of  God 
was  sufficient  to  sink  the  proud  foe 
in  the  waves  of  the  sea."  The  sea 
covered  them. — so  swift  and  sweeping 
and  summary  was  the  overthrow. 
It  was  done  at  the  breath  of  God. 
They  sank  like  lead, — dead  weight — 
powerless  —  irrecoverable.  Their 
heavy  metallic  armor,  which  so  con- 
stituted their  pride  and  pomp  of 
war,  only  made  their  drowning  more 
sudden  and  helpless,  and  hopeless. 
In  the  mighty  waters  the  adjective 
means  excellent — surpassing — over- 
whelming. 

11.  Here  the  third  strophe  begins 
with  an  ascription  of  praise  and 
passes  to  celebrate  the  glorious  ef- 
fect of  this  deliverance  upon  Israel 
and  the  world.  Who  is  like  unto 
Thee,  0  Jehovah.  Acknowledging 
the  pre-eminent  glory  of  their  cov- 
enant God  above  all  false  gods — 
pretended  deities  of  the  heathen. 
Their  God  had  so  proved  Himself 
beyond  all  comparison  of  "  mighty 
ones  "  of  earth — human  potentates, 
or  false  divinities  for  whom  such 
attributes  are  claimed.  It  is  absurd 
to  find  in  this  language  any  admis- 
sion of  the  real  existence  of  other 
gods,  as  if  here  was  an  acknowledg- 
ment that  the  heathen  gods  were 
veritable  beings.  The  language  is 
only  a  challenge  of  all  pretended 
gods  as   being  emptiness.    As  we 


CHAPTER  XV. 


135 


12  Thou  stretchedst  out  thy  right  hand,  the  earth  swallowed 
them. 

13  Thou  in  thy  mercy  hast  k  led  forth  the  people  ichich  thou 
hast  redeemed:  thou  hast  guided  them  in  thy  strength  unto  thy 
holy  habitation. 

14  The  people  shall  hear,  and  be  afraid:  sorrow  shall  take 
hold  on  the  inhabitants  of  Palestina. 


k  Is.  63:  13 


call  the  idols  of  the  heathen  their 
"gods"  without  any  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  real  being  as  deities. 
Glorious  in  holiness.  The  conflict 
with  Egyptian  powers  was  a  rally- 
ing of  the  kingdom  of  light  against 
the  kingdom  of  darkness,  as  now  it 
is  Christ  against  Antichrist,  and 
God  is  here  pronounced  so  inimita- 
ble, glorious,  or  glorified  in  holiness, 
as  shown  in  the  deliverance  and 
redemption  of  His  people,  and  the 
overthrow  of  their  wicked  foes. 
"  Be  glad  in  Jehovah,  ye  righteous, 
and  give  thanks  at  the  remembrance 
of  His  holiness."  (Ps.  30 :  4.) 

"  Ov\y  the  soul  that  feels  His  grace 
Can  triumph  in  His  holiness.1' 

Fearful  in  praises.  Reverend,  no- 
table in  His  praiseworthy  manifes- 
tations —  fearful  in  reference  to 
praises — to  be  feared  in  things  call- 
ing for  our  praises.  "  Serve  the 
Lord  with  fear  and  rejoice  with 
trembling,"  Ps.  2.  Doing  iconders, 
rega-a,  a  word  used  as  one  of  the 
three  meaning  miracles — prodigies 
of  supernatural  power — (Job  5  :  9). 
"  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  Thee  that 
forgivest  iniquity  "  etc. 

12.  Thou  stretchedst  out  TJiyliand. 
Here  again  the  Divine  power  is  ex- 
tolled as  effecting  their  deliverance. 
"  This  is  the  high  hand  and  the 
stretched  out  arm  "of  the  Almighty 
which  is  to  be  celebrated.  The 
earth  swallowed  them.  Some  sup- 
pose that  the  song  passes  here  to  a 
more  general  view  of  God's  won- 
drous dealings  as  wrapped  up  in  this 
signal  event,  and  that  the  reference 
is  not  here  to  the  Egyptian  over- 
throw.   The  verb  is  in  the  future. 


The  earth  will  swallow  them — but 
this  is  the  tense  used  in  several  of 
the  clauses,  rather  to  express  the 
idea  that  it  shall  always  be  so,  as  has 
here  been  done  (vs.  5,  6,  7).  As  re- 
gards the  Egyptians,  it  may  be  said 
the  earth  swallowed  them,  whether 
as  referred  to  the  globe  itself  with- 
out distinction  of  land  and  sea — or  as 
down  in  the  abysses,  swallowed  up 
in  the  mire  of  the  ocean  beds  (Jo- 
nah 2  :  6).  And  now  the  poet  passes 
to  notice  that  all  this  was  for  the 
salvation  of  Israel. 

13.  Thou  hast  led,  leddest  etc. 
God  is  here  extolled  as  Leader  of  His 
people,  who  has  delivered  them  from 
Egypt  with  a  purpose  to  lead  them 
to  Canaan.  In  Thy  mercy,  or 
through  Thy  mercy.  This  deliver- 
ance was  to  be  regarded,  therefore, 
as  a  pledge  of  their  entrance  to  the 
promised  land.  This  is  reiterated 
in  the  parallel  clause,  according  to 
the  Hebrew  poetry.  Thou  hast 
guided  them  (gently  leadest  them) 
through  thy  might  —  no  less  than 
through  thy  mercy — the  power  and 
grace  of  God  being  pledged  for  the 
result  —  to  thy  holy  habitation — 
which  was  Canaan  (Ps.  78  :  54). 
"Thou  leddest  thy  people  like  a 
flock  by  the  hand  of  Moses  and  Aa- 
ron "  (Ps.  77  :  20). 

14.  Peoples  hear  —  they^  are 
afraid.  The  poet  now  passes  in  the 
transport  of  his  inspired  verse,  to 
celebrate  the  effects  of  this  event 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  Philistia — 
(Pelasheth).  The  very  fame  of  the 
Deliverance  shall  inspire  them  with 
a  salutary  awe.  It  is  objected  by 
modern  critics  that  so  to  understand 
the  passage,  would  suppose  Moses 


136 


EXODUS. 


15  Then  the  dukes  of  Edoni  shall  be  amazed;  the  mighty 
men  of  Moab,  trembling  shall  take  hold  upon  them:  all  the  in- 
habitants of  Canaan  shall  melt 1  away. 

16  Fear  and  dread  shall  m  fall  upon  them:  by  the  greatness 
of  thine  arm  tiny  shall  be  as  still  n  as  a  stone ;  till  thy  people 
pass  over,  O  Lord,  till  the  people  pass  over  which  °  thou  hast 
purchased. 

17  Thou  shalt  bring  them  in,  and  p  plant  them  in  the  moun- 
tain of  thine  inheritance,  in  the  place,  O  Lord,  which  thou 
hast  made  for  thee  to  dwell  in;  in  the  <i  sanctuary,  O  Lord, 
ichich  thy  hands  have  established. 


1  Jos.  5:1.      m  De.  2:  25;  11:  25;  Jos.  2:  9. 
pPs.  44:  2.     qPs.  78:  54. 


n  ISa.  25:  37.      o  Ps.  74:  2;  Ac.  20:  28 


to  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  which 
they  assume  to  be  impossible  and 
hence  they  must  construct  another 
theory.  But  this  was  fulfilled,  (See 
Josh.  2  :  9,  10  ;  5  :  9,  9).  It  is  not  the 
Canaanites,  but  the  inhabitants  <*f 
Pelasheth,  or  the  Philistines,  who 
are  here  named. 

15.  The  dukes,  princes,  or  heads, 
chiefs,  or  chieftains  (rather  than  the 
kings)  of  Edom  are  confounded — 
the  mighty  men  of  Moab,  trembling 
shall  take  hold  upon  them.  The 
Moabites  were  of  notable  strength 
and  stature  (Jer.  48  :  29,  41).  All  the 
inhabitants  of  Canaan  melt  away 
with  fear.  This  is  true  though 
Edom  and  Moab  resisted  their  march 
(Numb.  20  :  18).  It  is  plain  from 
the  mention  of  all  these  people  on 
the  same  basis  that  the  command  to 
exterminate  the  Canaanites  could 
not  at  this  time  have  been  given,  as 
yet,  and  this  agrees  with  the  author- 
ship of  Moses  and  the  time  of  the 
Exodus.  The  perfect  tense  here 
describes  the  future  as  if  it  had 
passed — the  prophetic  past. 

16.  There  shall  fall  upon  them 
fear  and  dread,  through  the  great- 
ness of  Thine  arm  they  shall  be  dumb 
as  a  stone — petrified.  Here  the  fu- 
ture is  used  after  the  perfect — and 
thus  intermingled,  the  sense  is  clear- 
ly anticipatory  and  prophetic — till 
thy  people  pass  over,  0  Jehovah. 
The  verb  here  would  seem  to  refer 
to  the  passing  over  th3  wilderness 


or  more  particularly,  the  boundary 
line  of  the  Holy  Land.  But  it  was 
most  literally  fulfilled  in  the  passage 
over  Jordan,  which,  however  the 
poet  could  not  have  had  in  his  view 
except  so  far  as  the  original  idea  ol 
the  name  Hebrew  was  "  the  passers 
over,"  those  who  passed  over  the 
Jordan,  as  the  boundary  line,  and 
now  they  were  again  to  be  passers 
over,  according  to  the  idea  of  their 
original  name.  The  allusion  is  to 
this  rather  than  to  the  passage  of 
the  Red  Sea  just  accomplished. 
Which  thou  Jiast  purchased.  Israel 
was  claimed  by  God  as  a  purchased 
possession — a  peculiar  people — that 
is,  private  property — peculiar,  be- 
longing to  Him  (Deut.  82  :  9  ;  1  Pet. 
2  :  9  ;  2  Pet.  2  :  1). 

17.  Moses  here  distinctly  contem- 
plates and  predicts  their  entrance 
into  the  Holy  Land  under  the  same 
Divine  Leadership  as  had  led  them 
out  of  Egypt  and  through  the  Sea. 
The  poet  here  clearly  foresees  and 
announces  the  establishment  of  the 
Divine  worship  in  the  mountain  al- 
ready designated  by  the  words  of 
Abraham  at  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac — 
Jehovah-jireh.  "  In  the  mountain 
Jehovah  shall  be  seen,"  and  that 
God  will  lead  His  people  thither  and 
plant  them  there — as  the  vine  of 
Egypt — setting  up  there  His  church 
and  establishing  there  His  worship. 
In  the  place,  0  Jehovah,  -which  Thou 
hast  made  for  Thee  to  dwell  in,  (in) 


CHAPTER  XV. 


137 


18  The  Lord  shall  reign  r  for  ever  and  ever. 

19  For  the  horse  of  Pharaoh  went  in  with  his  chariots  and 
with  his  horsemen  into  the  sea,  and  the  Lord  brought  again 
the  waters  of  the  sea  upon  them  :  but  the  children  of  Israel 
went  on  dry  land  in  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

20  And  Miriam  the  prophetess,  the  sister  of  Aaron,  s  took  a 
timbrel  in  her  hand,  and  all  the  women  went  out  after  her  with 
timbrels  and  with  dances. 


rPs.  146:  10;  Da.  4:  3;  7:  27.     sJu.  11:  34;  2Sa.  6:  5;  Ps.  68:  25;  81:  2;  149:  3;  150:  4. 


the  Sanctuary,  0  Jehovah,  which  Thy 
hands  have  established.  This  is  a 
most  definite  and  unmistakable  ref- 
erence by  the  Spirit  of  prophecy  to 
the  event  contemplated  by  the  selec- 
tion of  Moriah  for  Isaac's  sacrifice 
and  the  revelations  there — the  event 
to  which  the  redemption  from  Egypt 
pointed  forward  as  in  the  plan  of 
God  to  place  His  people  in  His  own 
land  for  their  training  in  His  wor- 
ship and  service,  in  preparation  for 
Gospel  times.  Because  of  the  dis- 
tinct prediction  here,  objectors  claim 
that  the  whole  chapter  is  unhistori- 
cal,  and  that  it  could  not  have  been 
written  prior  to  the  event,  suppos- 
ing it  to  refer  to  the  establishment 
of  God's  worship  in  the  Temple  on 
Moriah.  But  surely  this  had  been 
distinctly  enough  indicated  in  Abra- 
ham's history  to  form  here  the  basis 
of  Moses'  song ;  and  inspiration 
guides  him  to  a  clear  expression  of 
the  idea  to  stand  on  record  as  the 
pre-intimation  of  what  God  would 
accomplish  for  His  people. 

18.  Jehovah  shall  reign  for  ever 
and  ever.  This  is  the  closing, 
crowning  ascription  of  praise.  And 
this  is  based  upon  the  great  fact,  so 
signally  come  to  pass — the  drown- 
ing of  Pharaoh's  host  and  the  deliv- 
erance of  Israel  in  one  grand  and 
glorious  event.  Whether  this  verse 
belongs  to  the  hymn  or  is  a  mere 
passage  of  transition  to  the  narra- 
tive, the  meaning  is  plain.  Probably 
the   previous  verse  closes  the  Song. 

19.  For  the  horse  of  Pharaoh — 
not  his  horsemen,  but  his  horse,  im- 
plying clearly  that  Pharaoh  went 
into  the  sea,  riding  up  m  his  horse 


at  the  head  of  his  army,  as  was  the 
custom,  and  this  was  a  fact  suffi- 
ciently important  and  notable  to  be 
mentioned  here.  The  Lord  brought 
again.  Jehovah  did  it  by  the  agen- 
cy of  Moses,  and  by  means  of  the 
strong  east  wind,  supernaturally 
operating.  It  was  not  the  rod  of 
Moses,  nor  the  wind  itself,  but  Je- 
hovah in  all.  This  verse  recites  in 
brief  the  eventful  issue,  for  which 
Jehovah  is  to  be  praised  as  fit  to  be 
King  for  ever. 

20.  Miriam.  Greek,  Mariam. 
Latin,  Maria..  English,  Mary.  She 
is  called  the  prophetess — not  as  Isa- 
iah's wife  is  so  called  (lsa.  8  : 3)  as 
being  the  wife  of  a  prophet,  but  as 
Deborah,  on  account  of  being  an  or- 
gan of  Divine  communication,  and 
perhaps,  also,  from  her  knowledge 
of  sacred  song — (1  Chron.  25  :  1). 
See  Mic.  6  :  4,  where  she  is  spoken 
of  as  commissioned  along  with  Mo- 
ses and  Aaron.  The  sense  of  proph- 
et is  not  confined  to  prediction,  but 
extends  to  proclaiming  God's  mes- 
sage, or  uttering  the  truth  as  a  mes- 
senger of  God.  The  sister  of  Aaron 
she  is  called,  though  equally  the  sis- 
ter of  Moses,  but  ranking  with  Aaron 
rather  than  with  Moses,  who  was 
chief  and  superior.  She  took  a  timbrel 
in  her  hand.  This  musical  instrument 
seems  to  have  been  like  our  modern 
tambourin,  a  small  drum-head,  with 
tinkling  plates  or  bells,  and  struck 
with  the  hand.  Miriam  was  the 
leader  of  a  train  of  women,  all  play- 
ing this  instrument,  and  joining  in 
a  dance,  expressive  of  their  devout 
joy.  It  is  not  dancing  itself  that  is 
necessarily  wrong,  but  the  spirit  of 


138 


EXODUS. 


21  And  Miriam  answered  them,  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,  t  for 
he  hath  triumphed  gloriously;  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he 
thrown  into  the  sea. 

Red  Sea ;  and  they 


22  So  Moses  brouffht  Israel  from  the 

v_5 


t  Ver.  1. 


it  and  its  accessories  and  effects,  in 
the  service  of  the  world.  Such 
dances  as  Miriam's,  with  songs  of 
praise  to  God,  would  give  quite  a 
different  aspect  to  the  question,  and 
would  scarcely  be  accepted  by  its 
advocates  as  any  valuable  conces- 
sion. 

21.  Answered  them  —  responded 
to  the  men— (2  Sam.  6 :  14).  The 
part  which  these  players  and  danc- 
ers took  was  in  responses  to  the 
male  chorus,  and  here  the  refrain  is 
given.  To  the  words,  "  1  will  sing 
unto  Jehovah,"  the  response  is, 
"  Sing  ye  to  Jehovah,"  then  repeat- 
ing the  opening  words  of  the  song, 
verse  1. 

Lessons. — (1)  God  prefaces  His 
commandments  by  reminding  of  His 
wondrous  deliverance  from  the 
bondage,  by  which  He  claims  to  be 
Jehovah,  tbe  covenant  God  of  his 
people,  who  has  already  achieved 
for  them  such  signal  deliverance, 
and  now  calls  on  them  to  obey  Him 
in  grateful,  filial  service.  (2)  God 
here  points  forward  to  a  further  de- 
liverance as  a  fulfilment  of  this  his- 
torico-prophetical  act — the  bringing 
of  His  Son  out  of  Egypt.  See  Matt. 
2  :  15. 

"  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my 
Son."  He  calls  Israel  His  Son — 
(Hos.  11:1,  and  Exod.  4  :  22).  Jesus, 
who  is  the  head  of  the  covenant  and 
members,  is  His  Son.  All  His  peo- 
ple are  one  in  Christ,  as  the  body  is 
one  with  the  head.  (3)  And  further, 
the  deliverance  from  Egypt  of  the 
ancient  Israel  points  forward  to  the 
greater  deliverance  from  Satanic 
bondage  already  achieved  for  His 
people,  by  which  He  claims  to  be 
the  God  of  each  of  us,  and  claims 
our  devoted,  free,  and  grateful  obe- 
dience. 


§  34.    The  Bitter  waters  sweet- 
ened.    Ch.  XV.,  22-27. 

22.  The  narrative  now  proceeds. 
From  this  scene  of  their  triumphant 
praises  on  the  further  bank  of  the 
sea,  Moses  led  the  people  onward 
into  the  wilderness  of  Shur.  It  is 
generally  supposed  that  they  came 
out  of  the  sea  at,  or  about,  the  spot 
called  Ayun  Musa — the  fountains 
of  Moses.  These  fountains  are  a 
group  of  seven  springs,  making  an 
oasis  in  a  desolate  tract  of  desert, 
and  the  only  spot  thereabouts  where 
water  can  now  be  had.  It  is  about 
two  miles  from  the  shore,  where 
also  is  a  projecting  point  of  land 
called  Cape  Moses,  opposite  to  an- 
other cape  on  the  western  shore 
called  lias  Attaka,  or  the  Cape  of 
Dt'ttnerancc."  It  is  very  remarkable 
that  these  names  remain  to  give 
their  traditional  testimony  to  these 
sites,  as  connected  with  the  historic 
events  here  recited.  The  name  Shur 
bears  also  its  testimony  to  the  his- 
tory. It  means  a  wall,  and  would 
seem  to  be  associated  with  the  event 
here  recorded,  where  the  waters 
were  massed  as  solid  walls  for  the 
passage  across.  This  desert  or  wil- 
derness of  Shur  comprises  the  West- 
ern district  of  Arabia  Petrsea  ;  in- 
deed, extends  from  the  northeast 
part  of  Egypt  to  Palestine.  Palmer, 
in  his  Ordnance  Survey,  suggests 
another  reference  of  the  name,  and 
says  :  "  If  we  stand  at  Ayun  Musa, 
and  glance  over  the  desert  at  the 
Jebels  er  Mahah  and  et  Tih,  which 
border  the  gleaming  plain,  we  at 
once  appreciate  the  fact  that  these 
long  wall-like  escarpments  are  the 
chief,  if  not  the  only,  prominent 
characteristics  of  this  portion  of  the 
wilderness,  and  we  need  not  wonder 


Exodus. 


AYUX    MOL'SA,  THE    WELLS    OF    MOSES. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


139 


went  out  into  the  wilderness  of  u  Shur:  and  they  went  three 
days  in  the  wilderness  and  found  no  water. 

u  Ge.  16 :  7. 


that  the  Israelites  should  have 
named  this  memorable  spot  after  its 
most  salient  feature — the  Wilder /uss 
of  Shur,  or  the  Wall.  To  the  south- 
east of  Pas  Musa  there  is  the  Wady 
Sdur,  which  is  also  the  name  (Sdur) 
of  the  coast  northward.  The  camp 
of  the  Israelites  must  have  stretched 
some  distance.  A  little  further 
down  the  coast  is  a  frowning  chalk 
cliff  called  Hamman  Far'un,  '  Pha- 
raoh's Hot  Bath,'  which  the  Arabs 
point  out  as  the  site  of  the  miracle. 
Pharaoh's  unquiet  spirit  is  still  sup- 
posed to  haunt  the  deep,  and  to  keep 
alive  the  boiling,  sulphurous  spring 
which  started  up  at  his  last  drown- 
ing gasp.  The  sea  at  this  point  is 
named  Birket  Far'un  —  Pharaoh's 
Lake." — Palmer  Survey,  p.  39.  Lep- 
sius takes  Far'un  for  Paran.  Three 
days.  Palmer  says:  "From  the 
wells  of  Moses  we  traversed  an  un- 
varied desert  plain  for  three  days, 
with  the  thought  that,  like  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  we  had  gone  three 
days  in  the  desert  and  had  found  no 
water.  On  the  third  day  we  reached 
Ain  Hawdrah,  which  most  previ- 
ous  travellers  have  sought  to  iden- 
tify with  the  Marah  of  Scripture. 
It  is  a  solitary  spring  of  bitter  water, 
with  a  stunted  palm  tree  growing 
near  it,  and  affording  a  delicious 
shade.  The  name  is  rendered  by 
Dr.  Robinson,  Fount  of  Destruction, 
but  really  signifies  a  small  pool,  the 
water  of  which  sinks  into  the  soil, 
little  by  little,  leaving  the  rest  unfit 
for  drink — a  description  eminently 
fitted  to  the  spring  in  question." 
Palmer,  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  p.  40  : 
"  The  spring,  which  is  now  sanded 
up,  may  have  flowed  more  copiously 
at  one  time,  when  it  was  kept  in 
better  order."  —  K  &  Del.  They 
had  probably  taken  a  supply  for  the 
time,  which  had  now  run  out.  It  is 
said  that  this  fountain  is  about  three 
feet  deep,  and  contained  in  a  basin 


of  over  ten  feet  in  diameter  and  sis 
feet  in  depth.  They  could  not  drink. 
Wellsted,  a  traveller,  says  that  when 
he  tasted  the  water,  and  muttered 
the  word  Marah,  his  Bedouin  said, 
"  You   speak    the    word    of    truth. 
They    are    indeed    Marah."       The 
term  Huwara  is  defined  by  Freytag 
as  ruin,  destruction,  but  the  bitter- 
ness would  suggest  such  a  name  as 
if  it   were  deadly.     The   sites   and 
route  are  differently  given  by  Robin- 
son and  by  Lepsius. 
Robinson  thus— 
From   Ayun  Musa  to  Ain 
Hawareh,or  Marah,  three 
stations  each  of      ...  6  hours. 
To  Wady  Gharundel,  Elim  2      " 

To  the  sea 8      " 

To  Wady  Schellal  —  Wild- 
erness of  Sin       ....  4      " 
To  Dophka  and  Alus — two 

stations  to  Firan,  each     .  7       " 
To  the  plain  of  Raha — Re- 
phidim    and    Sinai,   two 
stations,  each      ....  8      " 
Lepsius  thus — 
From  Ayun  Musa,  three  sta- 
tions, to  Wrady  Gharun- 
del, or  Marah,  each,    .     7  hours. 
To  the  outlet  of  the  valley 
near     Abu     Zelimeh  — 

Elim 7     " 

To  Firan,  by  Dophka  and 
Alus,  to  Rephidim  at 
Sinai,      three      stations, 

each 6     " 

Lepsius  says  :  "  It  is  easy  to  ima- 
gine why  the  latter  stations  are 
somewhat  shorter  than  the  first,  on 
account  of  the  greater  difficulty  of 
the  road.  According  to  Robinson 
the  fourth  station  would  be  scarcely 
explicable.  Why  did  the  people 
murmur  so  near  to  the  twelve 
springs  of  Elim  ?  How  would  pre- 
cisely that  strikingly  long  journey 
of  more  than  eight  hours,  from  Elim 
to  the  sea,  not  have  been  mentioned 
I  at  all?     And  how  was   it   possible 


140 


EXODUS. 


23  And  when  they  came  to  v  Marah,  they  could  not  drink 
of  the  waters  of  Marah,  for  they  icere  bitter:  therefore  the  name 
of  it  was  calJed  Marah. 

24  And  the  people  murmured  against  Moses,  saying,  What 
shall  we  drink  ? 

25  And  he  cried  unto  the  Lord:  and  the  Lord  shewed  him 
a  tree,  which  when  he  had  cast  into  w  the  waters,  the  waters 
were  made  sweet:  there  he  made  for  them  a  statute  and  an  or- 
dinance, and  there  he  proved  them, 


v  Nu. 


W  2Ki.  2:  21;  4:  41. 


that  the  days'  marches  should  have 
constantly  increased  in  length  amid 
the  lofty  mountains  and  difficult 
ground  ?  "  r  These  are  forcible  con- 
siderations. 

23.  Any  one  who  has  travelled 
in  the  hot  countries  of  the  Orient 
can  understand  how  disappointing 
must  be  bitter  water  in  the  agony 
of  thirst.  We  came  to  the  Dead  Sea 
after  a  hot  and  wearisome  ride. 
The  waters  were  clear  and  sparkling, 
just  such  as  to  promise  the  most 
satisfying  draught.  My  horse  ea- 
gerly put  his  mouth  to  the  water's 
edge,  when  an  Arab  guide  seized 
the  bridle,  and  shouted  that  a  sip 
of  it  would  kill  him,  as  it  probably 
would.  But  here  it  was  repulsive 
from  its  bitterness.  Osborne  gives 
the  analysis  of  the  water  thus — 

Sulphate  of  lime 1.545 

"  magnesia  1.000 

soda 919 

potash...   .281 
Chloride  of  sodium . . .  3.940 
Chloride    of     sodium, 
with  traces  of   bitu- 
minous   matter    and 

carbonic  acid 8.345     to 

the  1.000. 

24.  Murmured.  So  soon  the  peo- 
ple forget  all  that  Moses  had 
wrought,  and  all  that  God  had  done 
for  them  by  his  hand.  They  de- 
sire some  provision  for  their  thirst. 
"  What  shall  we  eat  and  what  shall 
we  drink  ?  "  is  still  the  cry  of  the 
multitude,  for  answer  to  these  nat- 
ural demands.  And  Christ  would 
have  us  trust  in  that  covenant  that 
guarantees  to  God's  faithful  people 


that  their  bread  shall  be  given  them 
and  their  water  shall  be  sure.  "  Fa- 
ther Patterson,"  as  he  was  called,  a 
pioneer  of  the  Church  in  Western 
Pennsylvania,  said  that  when  he 
was  laboring  amongst  the  Indians, 
he  had  for  his  common  meal  pound- 
ed corn  and  bears'  grease,  until  he 
became  sick  of  it.  And  he  prayed 
one  day  that  God  would  make  good 
His  promise  and  give  him  that  day 
something  he  could  relish  for  his 
dinner.  And,  said  he,  it  was  done. 
And  what  do  you  think  I  had  ?  he 
added.  I  had  pounded  corn  and 
bears'  grease.  But  1  had  an  appe- 
tite. 

25.  A  tree,  not  necessarily  a 
living  tree,  but  wood — we  know  not 
of  what  sort,  only  that  it  was  some- 
thing which  he  could  cast  into  the 
waters.  Some  have  supposed  it  was 
a  stick,  which  by  piercing  the  bed 
of  the  spring,  opened  afresh  the 
fountain.  But  it  seems  to  have  had 
a  sweetening  quality  or  power.  God 
could  have  wrought  the  result  with- 
out this  natural  agency.  But  He 
will  show  how  He  has  the  means  al- 
ways at  command,  and  even  a  dead 
stick,  like  Moses'  rod,  He  can  make 
so  effective.  So  His  ministry  is  on- 
ly Aaron's  rod  which  budded.  By 
this  transaction  He  made  here  for 
Israel  a  statute.  He  took  occasion, 
at  this  crisis,  so  early  on  their  wil- 
derness journey,  to  set  forth  the  law 
of  His  providential  administration 
for  His  people,  turning  the  bitter 
into  sweet — as  at  Cana  He  turned 
the  water  into  wine.  The  gracious 
interposition,  so  promptly  and  freely 


CHAPTER  XV. 


141 


26  And  said,  If  thou  wilt  diligently  hearken  to  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  thy  God,  and  wilt  do  that  which  is  right  in  his  sight, 
and  wilt  give  ear  to  his  commandments,  and  keep  all  his  statutes, 
I  will  put  none  of  these  diseases  upon  thee,  which  I  have  brought 
upon  the  Egyptians:  x  for  I  am  the  Lord  y  that  healeth  thee. 


x  De  28;  27,  68. 


y  Ps:  41:  4;  103:  3. 


rendered,  invited  trust  for  every  ex- 
igency and  every  condition,  and 
taught  them  that  there  is  nothing 
that  we  come  to  sooner  than  the 
bitter  waters  of  disappointment, 
sorrow,  bereavement,  and  want. 
But  that  it  is  His  prerogative  to 
change  the  hitter  into  sweet  by  the 
commonest  and  simplest  means  and 
agencies,  as  by  casting  a  stick  into 
the  bitter  fountain.  And  an  ordi- 
nance. Rather — and  a  judgment, 
or  an  institute.  The  term  is  some- 
times used  in  the  prophets  for  gos- 
pel institutes  or  decisions.  There 
He  took  occasion  to  illustrate  His 
grace,  and  to  show  the  principles 
upon  which  He  would  administer 
His  gracious  covenant,  in  dealing 
with  His  needy  people,  in  this  wil- 
derness world.  And  there  He  proved 
them.  While  thus  He  proved  Him- 
self and  His  grace,  He  proved  them 
also.  "  I  proved  thee  at  the  waters 
of  Meribah  " — waters  of  strife  (Ps. 
81 :  7 ;  Exod.  17  :  6).  He  proved 
them,  or  put  them  to  the  test. 

26.  And  said.  Here  is  the  defi- 
nite principle  which  He  sets  forth, 
and  by  which  He  will  have  them 
tested.  He  lays  it  down  as  a  fixed 
condition  of  the  Divine  favor,  the 
confidence  and  obedience  of  the 
people,  following  the  Divine  direc- 
tions. For  how  shall  He  conduct 
them  to  Canaan  if  they  refuse  to 
follow  in  the  way  He  marks  out  ? 
So  the  command  in  the  Gospel  is, 
"  Follow  me."  To  some  this  sounds 
like  a  harsh  and  inflexible  order, 
while  in  truth  it  is  a  most  gracious 
invitation.  Follow  me  !  I  will  lead 
you  and  carry  you  safely  through  ! 
As  this  order  was  given  by  the  De- 
livering Angel  to  Peter  in  the  prison 
— his  feet  in  the  stocks  and  help- 
less— Follow  me  !    It  meant  freedom 


from  the  chains — escape  from  the 
prison  through  the  iron  doors,  and 
defiance  of  all  his  enemies.  Dili- 
gently hearken.  Heb.,  If  hearing 
thou  wilt  hear — wilt  hear  to  pur- 
pose, so  as  to  obey.  It  is  the  same 
word  in  Heb.  that  means  to  hear,  and 
to  obey.  And  what  can  He  possibly 
do  for  us  if  we  refuse  to  hearken 
and  obey  His  voice  ?  And  will  do 
that  which  is  right  in  His  sight. 
This  is  not  arbitrary.  If  God  is  to 
undertake  for  us  we  must  do  what 
He  sees  best,  and  not  follow  our  own 
counsels,  or  be  guided  by  other  and 
false  oracles.  And  wilt  give  ear  to 
His  commandments.  For  as  He  is 
Captain  of  our  Salvation,  it  is  only 
by  giving  ear  to  His  orders  that  we 
can  be  saved.  His  commandments 
are  life  to  us.  His  commandments 
are  gracious  commandments.  He 
commands  us  to  believe  and  be  saved. 
To  be  saved  by  believing.  It  is  our 
high,  main  duty  to  be  saved,  and  so 
it  becomes  our  high,  main  duty  to 
believe.  For  it  is  to  believe  in  the 
salvation  which  is  freely  and  fully 
wrought  out  for  us,  that  He  has  made 
to  be  our  chief  duty.  A  nd  keep  (invio- 
late) all  his  statutes.  They  are  stat- 
utes of  grace  and  salvation,  and 
most  worthy  to  be  kept  by  us.  "This 
is  a  faithful  saying,"  etc.  God  can- 
not stipulate  for  a  keeping  in  part 
or  for  a  partial  obedience.  He  must 
require  a  perfect  obedience.  There 
is  no  lower  standard.  Wherein  we 
fail  we  have  no  recourse  but  to 
Christ  and  His  perfect  righteousness 
wrought  out  for  us.  1  will  put,  etc. 
This  hearty  and  full  acceptance  of 
His  plan  and  rule  of  conduct  is  the 
condition  of  His  grace  and  salvation. 
Not,  however,  as  in  a  bargain.  It  is 
rather  the  necessary  constitution  of 
things  in  which  He  becomes  every- 


142 


EXODUS. 


27  And  they  came  to  Elim,  where  were  twelve  wells  of 
water,  and  threescore  and  ten  palm-trees:  and  they  encamped 
there  by  the  waters. 


thing  to  us.  It  is  not  so  much  the 
condition  of  the  grace  as  the  condi- 
tion of  things  in  which  the  grace 
operates — for  to  the  unbelieving  and 
the  disobedient  the  grace  is  neces- 
sarily inoperative  and  of  none  effect. 
I  will  put  none  of  those  diseases.  It 
is  in  the  shape  of  a  covenant  to  ex- 
empt them  from  the  plagues  that 
had  fallen  upon  the  Egyptians,  if, 
by  their  trustful  obedience,  they 
would  separate  themselves  from  the 
conduct  of  the  Egyptians  that  had 
brought  upon  them  such  signal  de- 
struction. Now,  at  the  threshold  of 
their  wilderness  journey  under  the 
escort  of  the  Covenant  Angel,  this  is 
the  statute,  and  this  is  the  judicial 
decision,  not  arbitrary,  but  gracious. 
And  in  this  advertised  ordinance 
lies  their  only  salvation.  For  1  am 
Jehovah  that  healeth  thee.  The  Great 
Healer  is  He,  here  as  in  the  New 
Testament — "  all  manner  of  sickness 
and  all  manner  of  diseases  "  among 
the  people  He  heals.  He  only  can 
work  certain  cures  always,  and, 
what  is  more,  can  even  avert  the 
diseases.  By  the  awful  example  of 
the  Egyptians,  by  all  the  plagues 
visited  upon  them — even  to  the 
death  of  their  first-born  and  their 
destruction  in  the  sea,  in  all  their 
pride  and  defiance — He  will  have 
Israel  learn  to  trust  and  obey  Him 
that  they  may  alwavs  find  Him  a 
Helper  and  a  Healer— (Ps.  103  : 3). 
"  And  He  healed  them  all." — (Matt. 
12  :  18.)  And  as  many  as  touched 
the  hem  of  His  garment  were  made 
whole  (Matt.  14  :  36).  "  For  He 
Himself  took  our  infirmities  and 
bare  our  sicknesses  "  (Matt.  8  :  17). 

27.  Elim.  Only  a  short  distance 
—  a  day  at  the  most — from  the  bitter 
waters  to  the  refreshing  springs  and 
shady  palms.  The  word  means  trees. 
Wells — rather  springs.  Ohurundel 
is  commonly  taken  to  be  Elim, 
though  only  two  hours  from  Marah. 
It  is  a  noted  Arab  watering  place, 


and  fulfils  the  conditions  of  the 
narrative  thus :  "  Green  tamarisks 
and  feathery  palms  and  a  pleasant 
stream  of  running  water."  "  It  is 
clear,"  says  Palmer,  "  that  the  site 
of  Elim  must  lie  somewhere  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood."  "  The 
shade  of  one  of  these  palm  trees 
was  measured  and  found  to  be  180 
feet  in  circumference."  Though  on- 
ly six  miles  from  Ilawara,  or  Mar- 
ah, as  Robinson  supposes,  yet  en- 
campments are  chosen  with  refer- 
ence to  water  supplies  for  the  trav- 
ellers and  the  cattle.  By  the  other 
view  it  is  a  day's  distance  (Abu- 
Zenimeh  on  the  sea  being  the  Elim). 
Israel  was  here  to  learn  how  Jeho- 
vah, their  covenant  God,  could  make 
His  people  lie  down  by  green  pas- 
tures and  by  the  still  waters  and 
that  so  soon  after  they  had  murmur- 
ed at  the  bitter  streams.  Here  they 
found  most  attractive  camping 
grounds  for  the  great  multitude. 
And  as  regards  the  sites,  there  may 
easily  be  much  uncertainty,  as  the 
camp  would  spread  over  a  consider- 
able distance.     (See  Map.) 

Lessons.  (1)  God  leads  His  peo- 
ple like  a  flock  by  human  agencies. 
And  as  He  undertakes  for  them,  He 
will  not  suffer  them  to  fail.  (2)  He 
guarantees  not  wealth  nor  ease  to 
His  people,  but  their  bread  and  their 
water  shall  be  sure.  (3)  Harassing 
care  and  murmuring  about  what  we 
shall  eat  and  drink  is  wrong,  as  it  is 
born  of  unbelief.  (4)  Jesus  is  Him- 
self Bread  of  Life  and  Water  of 
Life,  which  is  better  than  the  water 
of  Jacob's  wells.  (5)  We  often  come 
to  Bitter  Waters  of  pain  and  loss 
and  trouble.  But  He  can  sweeten 
them  by  His  grace,  and  in  use  of  the 
commonest  means.  (6)  God  proves 
us  in  His  Providence  and  urges  up- 
on us  His  requirement  of  faith  and 
obedience  as  the  condition  in  which 
we  receive  and  enjoy  His  best  bless- 
ings. (7)  Elim  is  near  to  Marah  in 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


143 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


AND  they  took  their  journey  from  Elim;  a  and  all  the  con- 
gregation of  the  children  of  Israel  came  unto  the  wilder- 
ness of  b  Sin,  which  is  between  Elim  and  Sinai,  on  the  fifteenth 
day  of  the  second  month  after  their  departing  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt. 


a  Nu.  33:  10. 


b  Eze. 


tlie  journey  of  the  christian.  "  He 
maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pas- 
tures, He  leadeth  me  beside  the  still 
waters  "  (Ps.  23  :  2). 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

§  35.  The  Bread  from  Heaven. 
Ch.  XVI.  1-36. 

1.  The  camp  at  Elim  was  so  fit- 
ting for  rest  that  they  remained 
there  a  few  days.  Thence  they  took 
up  their  journey.  The  next  point 
here  mentioned  gives  the  direction 
without  noticing  a  halting  place 
named  in  Numb.  33  :  10.  Keil  and 
others  understand  the  Debbet  er 
Ramleh — the  Northern  route — to  be 
the  Wilderness  of  Sin.  Robinson 
understands  that  "  they  passed  in- 
side of  Jebel  Hanimam  to  the  head 
of  Wady  et  Tabiyeh  where  the  deep 
blue  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  would 
once  again  burst  upon  their  view.'' 
Stanley  says,  "  They  once  more  saw 
their  old  enemy  and  friend  and 
caught  one  more  glimpse  of  Egypt 
dim  in  the  distance  in  the  shadowy 
hills  beyond  it."  This  spot  is  about 
eight  hours'  journey  or  sixteen 
miles  distant,  not  too  long  a  day's 
stretch  for  the  host,  considering 
their  rest  at  Elim.  The  wilderness 
of  Sin  skirts  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  sea — stretching  from  the  Tih 
mountains  from  N.  W.  to  S.  E.  to 
the  Sinai  range.  This  may  explain 
the  connection  of  the  names  Sin  and 
Sinai.  This  desert,  or  wilderness, 
is  a  sandy  table-land  and  in  this 
they  camped.  Keil  thinks  possibly 
in  Wady  JSfasb,  where  is  a  well  of 


good  water  and  within  a  day's  march 
of  Tabiyeh.  The  modern  name  of 
the  desert  is  Debbet  er  Ramleh — the 
word  Debbet  in  Arabic  means  the 
same  as  "  Sin  "  in  Heb. — "  a  level 
broad  plain"  The  Ordnance  Sur- 
vey, however,  fixes  upon  a  southern 
route.  The  first  day's  journey  from 
Ras  Abu  Zanimeh  soutb wards  leads 
through  a  narrow  slip  of  barren 
sand  to  the  open  plain  of  El  Markha. 
A  very  even  and  tolerably  wide 
tract  of  desert  land  extends  through 
El  Markka  and  at  its  southern  ex- 
tremity, by  a  sudden  turn  eastward, 
leads  through  the  Wady  Feiran. 
This  tract  is  identified  by  the  con- 
ductors of  the  Survey  with  the  wil- 
derness of  Sin.  (See  Appendix — 
from  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  also 
see  Map).  Canon  Cook  on  the  whole 
decides  for  the  northern  route,  as 
also  do  Keil  and  Murphy.  The 
last  named  gives  his  reasons  for 
agreeing  with  Robinson  and  for  pre- 
ferring the  Debbet  er  Ramleh  route, 
the  chief  of  which  is  that  this  is 
the  more  open  and  easy  for  a  large 
body  of  men.  There  are  some  very 
difficult  passes  in  the  other  route. 
Besides  the  Debbet  er  Ramleh  agrees 
better  with  the  description  of  the 
narrative  —  "  between  Elim  and 
Sinai."  Others  mention  that  the 
route  is  most  difficult  on  account  of 
its  narrow  defiles.  It  is  quite  im- 
possible to  mark  out  the  route  with 
certainty. 

On  the  fifteenth  day.  It  was 
now  one  month  since  they  left  Egypt 
(see  ch.  12  :  18)  and  here  they  first 
complain  of  lacking  bread.  But 
it  js  first  water    and  then    bread 


144 


EXODUS. 


2  And  the  whole  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel  c 
murmured  against  Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  wilderness  : 

3  And  the  children  of  Israel  said  unto  them,  Would  to  God 
we  had  died  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
when  d  we  sat  by  the  flesh  pots,  and  when  Ave  did  eat  bread  to 
the  full  !  for  ye  have  brought  us  forth  into  this  wilderness,  to 
kill  this  whole  assembly  with  hunger. 

4  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  Moses,  Behold,  I  will  rain  e 
bread  from  heaven  for  you ;  and  the  people  shall  go  out  and 
gather  a  certain  rate  every  day,  that  I  may  f  prove  them, 
whether  they  will  walk  in  my  law  or  no. 


c   ch.  15:  24;  Ps.  106:  25;  ICo.  10:  10. 
f  De.  8:  16. 


d  Nu.  11:  4-5. 


Ps.  78:  24;  Jno.  6:  31-32. 


that  they  lack.  One  thing  or  an- 
other. And  forgetting  the  recent 
supply  when  they  lacked  water  and 
complained,  they  now  murmur  as 
though  nothing  had  been  done  for 
them.  So  the  disciples  "  considered 
not  the  miracle  of  the  loaves " 
(Mark  6  :  52).  So  we  all  forget  and 
murmur  when  new  trouble  comes. 
They  had  travelled  only  about  a 
hundred  miles.  They  murmured 
against  Moses  and  Aaron  their  lead- 
ers, but  it  was  really  a  fault-finding 
with  God.  Their  supply  of  corn 
was  exhausted  and  there  seemed  no 
prospect  of  procuring  any  in  that 
waste  wilderness.  To  all  human 
appearance  they  must  starve  in  the 
desert.  Could  they  not  reason  so 
far  as  to  conclude  that  He  who  clave 
the  sea  for  them  to  pass  over  had 
control  of  all  agencies  and  elements 
for  their  salvation  ?  They  were  al- 
most as  slow  to  understand  as  Pha- 
raoh was.  So  we  ought  to  reckon 
that  God  who  spared  not  His  Own 
Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all, 
cannot  do  otherwise  than  freely  give 
us  all  things  along  with  Him  (Rom. 
8 :  32). 

3.  Died  by  the  hand.  Theywou'.-tl 
rather  have  died  (they  say)  by  the 
hand  of  Jehovah  in  the  plague 
which  smote  the  families  of  Egypt 
with  death  rather  than  die  by  starv- 
ation. When  we  sat.  They  had 
been  fed  in  their  bondage  and  they 
counted  that  a  luxury  that  made 
slavery  and  death  desirable  in  their 


present  hunger  and  destitution.  But 
they  had  their  flocks  and  cattle  and 
could  not  have  starved — only  they 
fret  and  murmur  because  all  does 
not  go  well.  New  sorrows  seem  al- 
ways the  greatest  we  ever  had  and 
the  most  grievous  to  be  borne.  To 
kill  this  whole  assembly.  They  charge 
them  with  such  a  base  purpose. 
How  shocking  to  these  good  men  to 
be  so  scandalized.  This  whole  church 
as  the  term  is — for  here  is  the 
church  in  the  wilderness  (Acts  7). 

4.  The  long-suffering  patience  of 
God  is  here  displayed.  Instead  of 
punishing  them  for  their  unbelief, 
He  provided  for  their  want  and 
stops  their  murmuring  mouths  with 
food  from  Heaven.  Rain  bread. 
This  announces  the  miraculous 
character  of  the  supply.  As  He 
rained  fire  upon  guilty  Sodom,  so 
He  could  rain  bread  upon  His  peo- 
ple's camp.  God  has  undertaken 
for  them  and  He  will  not  suffer  them 
to  perish  of  want.  A  certain  rate 
every  day.  They  were  to  do  some- 
thing to  have  part  in  the  work.  Not 
to  furnish  the  bread  but  to  accept 
and  apply  it.  This  is  what  is  asked 
of  us  in  the  Gospel  provision — to 
receive  the  salvation  and  make  it 
ours.  So  they  were  to  go  out  and 
gather  the  daily  portion.  So  we  are 
to  come  to  Christ  and  draw  out  of 
His  fulness — bread  of  life — water 
of  life — and  be  saved  daily.  A  cer- 
tain rate,  lit.,  The  portion  of  a  day 
in  his  day.     So  we  pray  "  Give  us 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


145 


5  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  on  the  sixth  day  they  shall 
prepare  that  which  they  bring  in;  and  it  shall  be  twice  g  as 
much  as  they  gather  daily. 

6  And  Moses  and  Aaron  said  unto  all  the  children  of  Israel, 
At  even,  then  ye  shall  know  that  the  Lord  hath  brought  you 
out  from  the  land  of  Egypt: 

7  And  in  the  morning,  then  ye  shall  see  the  glory  h  of  the 
Lord;  for  that  he  heareth  your  murmurings  against  the  Lord: 
and  what  are  we,  that  ye  murmur  against  us  ? 


g  Yer.  22. 


h  Yer.  10:  ch.  40:  34;  Nu.  14:  10. 


this  day  our  daily  bread  " — the  day's 
portion — as  if  fresh  from  Heaven — 
direct  from  the  hand  of  our  Lord. 
That  I  may  prove  them.  The  whole 
Israel  as  one,  or  each  man,  literally 
him.  This  was  the  test  to  be  ap- 
plied whether  they  would  believe 
and  accept  the  provision  and  live 
upon  God's  gracious  bounty.  Wlieth- 
er  they  will  walk.  For  this  is  the 
law  of  God's  grace,  and  he  who  will 
not  walk  in  this  law,  and  come  and 
gather  his  daily  provision  from 
God's  heavenly  supplies,  must  per- 
ish. 

5.  A  special  provision  is  now  in- 
troduced, calling  for  their  definite 
action.  It  is  a  positive  injunction. 
No  room  for  arguing  the  reason 
why.  Only  to  obey.  As  with  the 
washing  of  Peter's  feet,  it  is  no  time 
for  protesting  on  personal  grounds 
(John  13).  Where  Christ  appoints, 
the  command  is  an  invitation  to 
benefits  and  blessings  not  to  be  had 
otherwise,  and  the  compliance  is  the 
condition  of  the  benefit.  He  who 
resists  Christ's  appointment  resists 
his  own  salvation.  "  If  I  wash  thee 
not  "  etc.  On  the  sixth  clay.  Here 
is  recognized  a  specialty  in  the  sixth 
day.  It  was  a  day  of  extra  prepa- 
ration. This  was  plainly  because 
the  following  day  was  the  Sabbath 
though  not  yet  so  announced  at 
Sinai  in  the  Law  of  Ten  Commands, 
yet  doubtless  instituted  from  the 
beginning,  on  the  basis  of  God's 
creative  rest.  So  that  when  it  came 
to  be  published  at  Sinai  as  one  of 
the  moral  institutes  the  form  of  the 
Command  was  "  Remember  the  Sab- 


bath day  "  as  something  already  es- 
tablished and  observed.  They  shall 
prepare.  This  preparation  pertains 
to  the  measuring  according  to  the 
day's  rate  a  double  measure,  and  the 
making  it  ready  for  eating — by  the 
pounding  or  grinding  and  cooking. 
Thus  God  would  have  them  rever- 
ence the  Sabbath  and  keep  it  holy, 
by  doing  this  work  of  preparation 
on  the  previous  day. 

6.  At  even,  lit.,  between  the  even- 
ings— at  twilight.  What  God  has 
j  us  t  assured  to  Moses  and  Aaron  is 
now  announced  to  the  people  by 
them — that  before  another  day  they 
should  have  proof  of  the  same  pow- 
er on  their  behalf  which  had 
brought  them  out  of  Egypt.  Tbis 
came  to  pass  as  promised.  (See  v.  13.) 
The  quails  came  that  evening.  It 
was  a  re-assurance  to  them  of  the 
Divine  Power  and  grace  manifested 
in  their  Deliverance  that  Jehovah 
had  undertaken  for  them.  So  our 
present  gracious  deliverances  are 
the  proof  of  God's  eternal  love  from 
the  beginning  and  to  the  end. 

7.  And  in  the  morning.  This  re- 
fers also  to  what  should  come  to 
pass  the  next  morning  (see  v.  16) — 
the  manna  should  ligbt  upon  the 
camp.  They  sbould  thus  behold 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  a  visible 
manifestation  of  His  Presence,  as 
symbolized  in  the  pillar  of  cloud 
and  fire — all  elements  and  agencies 
being  enlisted  on  their  bebalf .  For 
that.  The  ground  of  this  action  is 
here  assigned — -for  that  He  heareth 
— In  His  hearing— your  murmur- 
ings against  Jehovah — though    di- 


146 


EXODUS. 


8  And  Moses  said,  This  shall  be,  when  the  Lord  shall  give 
you  in  the  evening  flesh  to  eat,  and  in  the  morning  bread  to  the 
full;  for  that  the  Lord  heareth  your  murmurings  which  ye  mur- 
mur against  him:  and  what  are  we?  your  murmurings  are 
not  against  us,  i  but  against  the  Lord. 

9  And  Moses  spake  unto  Aaron,  Say  unto  all  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  children  of  Israel,  Come  J  near  before  the  Lord:  for 
he  hath  heard  your  murmurings. 

10  And  it  came  to  pass,  As  Aaron  spake  unto  the  whole 
congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel,  that  they  looked  toward 
the  wilderness,  and  behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  k  appeared  in 
the  cloud. 

11  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying, 

12  I  have  heard  the  l  murmurings  of  the  children  of  Israel: 
speak  unto  them,  saying,  At  even  ye  shall  eat  flesh,  and  in  the 
morning  ye  shall  be  filled  with  bread;  and  ye  shall  know  that  I 
am  the  Lord  your  God. 

i  ISa.   8:  7;  Matt.  10:  40;  Lu.  10:  16.        j  Nu.   16:  16.        k  Nu.  1-1:  10;  IKi.  8:  10. 
1  Ver.  7. 


rected  against  Moses  and  Aaron — 
yet  regarded  by  God  and  by  His  ser- 
vants as  against  Himself.  What 
are  ice.  They  were  only  God's  min- 
isters— so  that  their  murmurings 
directed  against  them  could  not 
terminate  upon  them,  but  really  ex- 
tended to  God  Himself. 

8.  And  Moses  said — when  Jeho- 
vah shall  give  you.  .  He  no  w  explains 
what  they  had  referred  to  in  the 
6th  and  7th  verses — as  the  knowl- 
edge and  sight  of  God's  glory.  It 
should  come  to  pass  when  these 
displays  of  His  power  and  grace 
should  take  place  and  so  soon — that 
evening  and  the  next  morning.  Not 
against  us.  Really  they  are  aimed 
at  God,  however  they  may  name 
us. 

9.  Come  near.  This  is  a  Gospel 
invitation.  Notwithstanding  their 
sinful  murmurings,  they  are  bidden 
to  come  near  before  Jehovah,  and  are 
not  driven  away  in  His  wrath.  So 
Jesus  says  to  all  sinners,  "  Come  un- 
to me." 

10.  Before  the  provision  should 
be  miraculously  supplied,  Jehovah 
displayed  Himself  in  the  Shekinah 
—the  miraculous  pillar  of  cloud  and 


fire — that  they  might  know  who 
supplied  them.  Toward  the  wilder- 
ness,  namely,  of  Sin,  to  which  they 
had  come  (v.  1).  And  behold  the 
Shekinah,  or  glory  of  Jehovah  ap- 
peared in  the  cloud — the  same  which 
had  accompanied  them,  but  which 
had  lost  in  part  its  special  signifi- 
cance. God  here  displayed  Himself, 
manifesting  His  Personal  Presence 
in  flashes  from  the  cloud,  or  in  some 
way  to  be  beheld,  as  their  Glorious 
Deliverer,  that  so  their  faith  might 
be  revived  by  His  gracious  deal- 
ings. 

11, 12.  This  is  probably  what  had 
already  been  said  to  Moses  (v.  IT), 
given  more  in  detail  to  show  the 
source  of  Moses'  announcement  to 
the  people.  Jehovah  had  said. — Flesh 
and  bread,  refer  here  to  the  people's 
murmurings.  He  gives  them  qaails 
as  flesh  and  manna  for  bread.  "  He 
rained  flesh  also  upon  them  as  dust, 
and  feathered  fowl,  like  as  the  sand 
of  the  sea."     Ps.  78  :  27. 

13.  The  quail  is  a  fowl  resem- 
bling the  partridge  and  is  found  in 
that  region  in  large  numbers.  The 
miracle  consisted  in  their  being 
brought  in  such  immense  quantities 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


147 


13  And  it  came  to  pass  that  at  even  the  quails  m  came  up, 
and  covered  the  camp;  and  in  the  morning  the  dew  lay  round 
about  the  host. 

14  And  when  the  dew  that  lay  was  gone  up,  behold,  upon 
the  face  of  the  wilderness,  there  lay  a  small  round  thing,  as 
small  as  the  hoar-frost  on  the  ground. 

15  And  when  the  children  of  Israel  saw  it,  they  said  one  to 
another,  It  is  manna:  a  for  they  wist  not  what  it  was.  And 
Moses  said  unto  them,  This  is  the  bread  which  the  Lord  hath 
given  you  to  eat. 

16  This  is  the  thing  which  the  Lord  hath   commanded, 

m  Nu.  11:  31;  Ps.  78:  27-31;  105:  40.    n  Ver.  31-33;  Nu.  11:  7;  De.  8:  3,  16;  Jos.  5: 
12;  Ne.  9:  15;  Ps.  78:  24;  105:  40;  Jno.  6:  31,  49,  58;  ICo.  10:  3;  He.  9:  4;  Re.  2:  17. 


and  at  the  very  time  specified.  It  is 
said  that  they  alight  often  quite  ex- 
hausted with  their  flight,  and  are 
easily  captured.  But  He  who  caused 
them  to  come  up  could  secure  them 
to  the  people.  The  dew  lay,  lit., 
There  was  a  layer  of  dew. 

14.  When  the  dew  that  lay  (around 
the  camp)  was  gone  up  (had  cleared 
away  or  evaporated) — Keil.  But  the 
verb  is  the  same  as  in  v.  13,  and  the 
reading  is,  and  the  layer  of  the  dew 
came  up  (or  made  its  appearance), 
and  behold,  etc.  (See  Numb.  11  :  9.) 
"  And  when  the  dew  fell  upon  the 
camp  in  the  night  the  manna  fell 
upon  it,"  that  is,  the  manna  fell 
with  the  dew,  and  upon  it — upon 
the  face  of  the  wilderness,  fine,  round, 
tiny,  like  the  hoar-frost  upon  the 
ground.  It  was  in  globules,  moist 
with  the  dew.  The  article  which 
may  be  called  natural  manna,  such 
as  is  found  in  that  country,  does 
not  lie  upon  the  open  plain,  the  face 
of  the  wilderness,  but  on  fallen  leaves, 
under  the  tamarisk  tree,  from  the 
trunk  and  boughs  of  which  it  ex- 
udes. 

15.  They  said  each  man  to  his 
brother,  Man  hu.  This  is  commonly 
taken,  as  in  margin,  to  mean,  What 
is  this  t  But  that  would  be  other- 
wise expressed  in  the  Hebrew.  And 
this  is  found  to  be  the  Egyptian 
name  for  manna,  and  known  also  to 
the  Israelites  —  Manhut.  meaning 
white  manna.  They  give  it  the 
name  of  that  which  most  resembled 


it,  namely,  the  tamarisk  gum,  which, 
in  small  quantities,  they  knew  of. 
The  miracle  consisted  in  (1)  bringing 
it  along  with  the  dew^and  in  no  con- 
nection with  the  tamarisk  tree — (2) 
in  the  quantity — one  day's  measure 
being  more  than  the  whole  annual 
product  of  the  natural  gum — and  (3) 
in  the  fact  that  it  was  intermitted 
on  Sabbath  days.  God  pleased  to 
feed  His  people  with  food  which  had 
a  natural  relation  to  that  district 
rather  than  on  food  of  other  regions. 
(4)  This  manna  was  gathered,  not  in 
one  season,  as  the  other  is  in  June, 
but  daily,  always  excepting  the  Sab- 
bath day,  showing  the  Divine  inter- 
position in  the  whole  matter.  For 
they  wist  not.  They  gave  it  this 
name  without  knowing  that  it  was 
an  entirely  new  thing,  and  from  a 
miraculous  source.  Moses  explains 
and  tells  them — This  is  the  bread 
ichich  Jehovah  hath  given  you  to  eat. 
This  is  that  which  was  promised, 
and  is  now  given  by  God  Himself. 
Our  Lord  refers  to  this  transaction  : 
"  Your  fathers  did  eat  manna  in  the 
wilderness  and  are  dead,"  (John  6  : 
21,  49)  to  show  that  that  miracu- 
lous food  had  no  power  to  give  the 
people  the  Divine  life  as  only  He 
could  have,  whom  that  manna  typi- 
fied as  "  the  Bread  of  Life."  They 
carried  about  with  them  a  specimen 
of  this  miraculous  food  as  a  type  of 
the  Promised  Salvation  (v.  33). 

16.  Moses  now  recites  God's  order 
in  regard  to  the  gathering.     Every 


148 


EXODUS. 


Gather  of  it  every  man  according  to  his  eating;  an  omer  for 
every  man,  according  to  the  number  of  your  persons:  take  ye 
every  man  for  them  which  are  in  his  tents. 

17  And  the  children  of  Israel  did  so,  and  gathered,  some 
more,  some  less. 

18  And  when  they  did  mete  it  with  an  omer,  o  he  that 
gathered  much  had  nothing  over,  and  he  that  gathered  little 
had  no  lack:  they  gathered  every  man  according  to  his  eating. 

19  And  Moses  said,  Let  no  man  p  leave  of  it  till  the  morn- 
ing. 

20  Notwithstanding  they  hearkened  not  unto  Moses;  but 
some  of  them  left  of  it  until  the  morning,  and  it  bred  worms,  and 
stank;  and  Moses  was  wroth  with  them. 


D  2Co.  8:  15. 


p  Matt.  6:  34. 


man  according  to  the  mouth  of  his 
eating.  Enough  for  his  own  daily 
consumption  —  an  omer  for  every 
man,  lit.,  for  a  head.  This  measure 
was  about  three  quarts  English — 
for  the  number  of  your  souls  {per-) 
sons)  so  as  to  meet  the  wants  of 
each  family.  This  is  repeated — Take 
ye  every  man  for  them  which  (are) 
in  his  tent.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  they  all  had  tents ;  but  this  was 
the  common  phrase — as  we  say  a 
household.  Yet,  in  fact,  they  had 
booths — tents  of  boughs — and  many 
being  shepherds,  brought  their 
tents. 

17.  They  gathered  some  more, 
etc.,  lit.,  he  that  exceeded  and  he  that 
fell  short.  The  people  were  thus 
put  upon  trial  of  their  faith — to 
gather  only  enough  for  one  day — 
and  fully  enough. 

18.  When  they  came  to  measure, 
here  was  a  most  remarkable  inter- 
position of  God  to  equalize  the  por- 
tion. The  one  who  exceeded  his 
quota  by  grasping  and  greed  had 
nothing  over ,  and  the  one  who,  by 
timidity  or  ill  success,  fell  short — 
had  no  lack.  "  A  potent  argument  to 
teach  them,  if  they  would  learn, 
that  all  men  are  equal  in  the  sight 
of  our  Heavenly  Father.  He  that 
distributed  His  bounty  could  equal- 
ize each  single  gathering  as  easily 
as  the  collected  whole  with  the  ra- 
tion allotted    to    each." — Murphy. 


Calvin  thinks  the  mass  was  gather- 
ed in  a  heap  and  then  measured  out 
in  the  quantity  that  each  required. 

19.  Let  no  one  keep  (any, of)  it 
over  till  the  next  day,  either  for  fear 
of  not  getting  the  next  day's  por- 
tion or  for  any  other  reason,  but 
each  must  conform  to  God's  pub- 
lished plan  of  living  by  the  day, 
and  of  daily  habitual  trust  in  Him 
as  the  Giver  of  our  daily  bread. 
"  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread  " 
is  an  item  in  the  Lord's  Prayer 
which  is  meant  to  put  us  upon  God 
for  daily  supplies,  and  for  our  habit- 
ual dependence,  knowing  that  He 
cares  for  us — and  be  the  day  long  or 
short,  dark  or  bright,  He  can  and 
will  adapt  our  supply  to  the  day  as 
it  comes.  We  are  ever  prone  to  lay 
in  a  stock  which  shall  keep  us  from 
this  necessity  of  daily  prayer  and 
daily  supply  from  God's  direct 
bounty. 

20.  Some  of  them,  notwithstand- 
ing this  definite  order,  disobeyed, 
and  left  a  portion  of  it  until  morn- 
ing, sparing  some  from  their  meas- 
ure so  as  not  to  be  without  any  for 
the  next  day.  And  it  bred  worms, 
or  it  swarmed  worms,  and  stank. 
The  common  manna  lasted  long 
without  spoiling.  But  here  was  God's 
hand  in  the  dispensation  of  this. 
So  overgrown  wealth  that  breeds  a 
feeling  of  independence  also  breeds 
corruption. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


149 


21  And  they  gathered  it  every  morning,  every  man  accord- 
ing to  his  eating  :  and  when  the  sun  waxed  hot,  it  melted. 

22  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  on  the  sixth  day  they  gathered 
twice  as  much  bread,  two  omers  for  one  man:  and  all  the 
rulers  of  the  congregation  came  and  told  Moses. 

23  And  he  said  unto  them,  This  is  that  which  the  Lord 
hath  said,  To-morrow  is  the  <i  rest  of  the  holy  sabbath  unto  the 
Lord  :  bake  that  which  ye  will  bake  to-day,  and  seethe  that  ye 
will  seethe :  and  that  which  remaineth  over  lay  up  for  you,  to 
be  kept  until  the  morning. 

24  And  they  laid  it  up  till  the  morning,  as  Moses  bade :  and 
it  did  not r  stink,  neither  was  there  any  worm  therein. 


q  Ge.  2:  3;  ch,  20:  8;  31:  15;  35:  3;  Le.  23:  3. 


r  Ver.  20. 


21.  It  melted.  The  part  of  it 
that  was  not  gathered  was  melted 
by  the  hot  sun  and  disappeared. 

22.  On,  the  sixth  dag.  The  Sab- 
bath was  thus  specially  provided 
for.  They  were  thus  reminded  of 
it  as  a  Divine  institution  and  thus  it 
came  at  Sinai  to  be  incorporated  in- 
to the  Decalogue  as  the  Lord's  day 
to  be  remembered.  But  when  the 
people,  in  obedience  to  the  orders 
given  gathered  a  double  quantity 
on  the  sixth  day  all  the  rulers  of  the 
congregation  came  and  told  Moses — 
fearing  it  would  seem  lest  this  sur- 
plus might  fare  as  did  that  noticed 
in  v.  20.  Moses  had  been  advised 
of  this  arrangement  of  a  double 
portion  on  the  sixth  day  (v.  5).  But 
he  seems  not  to  have  so  proclaimed 
to  the  people,  only  they  were  to 
find  a  double  supply  for  the  sixth, 
and  none  for  the  seventh  day.  Or 
possibly  if  the  instructions  were 
given  to  the  people,  as  in  v.  5  to 
Moses,  they  wished  to  know  further 
how  this  was  to  be  understood  in 
consistency  with  the  warning  in  v. 
20.  There  is  no  ground  here  for  in- 
ferring that  they  knew  nothing  of  a 
Sabbath  ordinance  prior  to  this  time. 
The  order  is  given  without  explana- 
tion, as  if  presuming  upon  this 
knowledge  of  a  Sabbath  law.  Or 
the  Sabbath  may  have  partially 
passed  out  of  use  in  Egypt  and  it 
was  now  by  this  special  appoint- 
ment that  God  provided  for  its  ob- 


servance in  connection  with  this 
gracious  dispensation  of  heavenly 
food. 

23.  Moses  now  explains  to  them 
the  Divine  ordinance.  This  is  that. 
This  means  the  Sabbath  observance. 
This  is  in  accordance  with  what  Je- 
hovah hath  said  in  appointing  the 
Sabbath  day.  To-morrow  is  a  rest, 
a  Sabbath  holy  to  Jehovah.  "  It  is 
at  once  a  statement  and  an  injunc- 
tion. They  knew  it  as  a  Sabbath — 
they  were  to  keep  it  as  a  festival." 
— Sp.  Com.  Or,  rather,  they  are  re- 
minded of  it  as  the  Sabbath,  and 
were  required  to  observe  it  in  this 
way,  thus  emphasizing  the  Sabbath 
ordinance,  which  else  they  might 
not  have  honored  in  this  particular. 
Bake,  etc.  The  ordinary  manna  of 
Tamarisk  gum  was  of  a  totally  dif- 
ferent nature.  It  was  used  as  hon- 
ey. This  had  the  quality  of  corn, 
to  be  baked,  ground  and  boiled. 
The  other  is  glutinous  and  oily.  So 
that  this  supply  is  quite  removed 
from  the  natural  product  in  kind  as 
well  as  in  measure.  Lag  up.  They 
were  to  keep  the  surplus  for  the 
Sabbath  supply. 

24.  This  that  was  thus  laid  up 
till  the  next  day  was  exempt  from 
the  corruption  that  befel  what  was 
kept  over  from  other  days.  '(See 
v.  20.)    God  honors  the  Sabbath. 

25.  26.  The  special  order  is  re- 
peated. They  were  now  bidden  to 
eat   that  portion   which  had  been 


150 


EXODUS. 


25  And  Moses  said,  Eat  that  to-day,  for  to-day  is  a  sabbath 
unto  the  Lord  :  to-day  ye  shall  not  find  it  in  the  field. 

26  Six  s  days  ye   shall   gather  it;  but   on  the  seventh  day, 
which  is  the  sabbath,  in  it  there  shall  be  none. 

27  And  it  came  to   pass,  that  there  went  out  some  of  the 
people  on  the  seventh  day  for  to  gather,  and  they  found  none. 

28  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  How  long  t  refuse  ye  to 
keep  my  commandments  and  my  laws  ? 

s  Ch.  20:  9-10.    t  Nu.  14:  11;  2KL  17:  11;  Ps.  78;  10-22;  106:  13:  Je.  9:  6:  Eze.  5:  6. 


laid  over  from  the  previous  day,  for 
it  was  not  to  be  rained  down  upon 
them  on  that  day.  For  to-day  is  a 
Sabbath  unto  Jehovah.  Some  have 
supposed  that  on  this  occasion  the 
Sabbath  was  changed  to  the  seventh 
day.  It  was  originally  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  as  it  was  the  first  day 
of  Adam's  life,  and  though  the 
seventh  day  of  God's  creative  week, 
it  was  the  first  day  of  man's  week. 
But  we  are  sure  that  there  is  no  in- 
timation given  of  the  Sabbath  being 
now  first  instituted,  but  quite  other- 
wise. There  was  a  Sabbath  under 
the  patriarchal  dispensation  and  a 
Sabbath  under  the  Levitical  dispen- 
sation. So  there  is  a  Sabbath  under 
the  Christian  dispensation — "  there 
remaineth  therefore  a  Sabbath-keep- 
ing for  the  people  of  God"  which 
Jesus  has  instituted  by  His  enter- 
ing into  His  new-creative  rest.  And 
so  there  will  be  a  glorious  Sabbath- 
keeping  in  the  heavenly  dispensa- 
tion. The  Sabbath  law  was  not 
newly  formed  at  Sinai  any  more 
than  the  other  commands  of  the 
Decalogue.  They  were  the  great 
fundamental  principles  of  morality 
that  were  there  grouped  as  of  uni- 
versal and  perpetual  obligation.  And 
hence,  there  could  have  been  no  ab- 
rogation of  the  Sabbath  law  by  the 
change  of  dispensations,  any  more 
than  the  abrogation  of  any  other  of 
the  Ten  Commands.  They  were 
only  such  precepts  as  were  binding 
everywhere  and  always  which  were 
there  promulgated  as  God's  moral 
code  for  mankind. 

"  27.  Some  of  the  people  not  heed- 
ing these  restrictions  went  out  to 


gather  on  the  Sabbath  as  on  other 
days,  and  they  found  none.  This 
was  a  gross  disregard  of  God's  di- 
rections and  of  His  institutions — 
treating  the  Sabbath  as  any  other 
day.  But  the  result  taught  them  a 
lesson  of  universal  application — 
that  they  who  turn  the  Sabbath  in- 
to a  week  day  for  ordinary  business 
and  gain,  find  nothing — fail  in'  their 
enterprises  sooner  or  later  in  one 
way  or  another.  God  puts  honor  on 
His  own  day.  And  he  whose  de- 
light is  in  the  law  of  the  Lord  finds 
that  whatever  he  doeth  shall  pros- 
per (Ps.  1). 

28.  Jehovah  here  expostulates 
with  the  people  to  Moses.  How 
long,  etc.  This  violation  of  the  Sab- 
bath law  was  in  God's  sight  a  griev- 
ous wrong.  This  seems  to  imply 
that  they  had  been  guilty  of  this 
inattention  to  the  Sabbath  before 
this  time.  And  it  justifies  the  sup- 
position that  in  their  Egyptian  bon- 
dage they  had  been  prone  to  neglect 
the  Sabbath.  And  now  God  will 
train  His  church  in  the  wilderness 
to  this  fundamental  observance. 
For  it  is  universally  true  that  the 
Sabbath  observance  is  at  the  very 
foundation  of  social  order  and  of 
public  morality,  no  less  than  of  pri- 
vate and  personal  virtue.  Emphasis 
is  therefore  put  upon  it  here  at  the 
outset  of  their  journeyings.  There 
is  a  plain  reference  to  v.  4.  There 
was  a  provina  of  the  people  in  this 
command.  The  whole  arrangement 
is  now  explained.  Abide  ye  every 
man  in  his  place.  That  is — go  not 
out  to  gather  manna — which  was 
outside    the   camp  on   other   days. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


151 


29  See,  for  that  the  Lord  hath  given  you  the  sabbath, 
therefore  he  giveth  you  on  the  sixth  day  the  bread  of  two  days: 
abide  ye  every  man  in  his  place;  let  no  man  go  out  of  his  place 
on  the  seventh  day. 

30  So  the  people  rested  on  the  seventh  day. 

31  And  the  house  of  Israel  called  the  name  thereof  Manna: 
and  it  teas  like  u  coriander-seed,  white;  and  the  taste  of  it  was 
like  wafers  made  with  honey. 

32  And  Moses  said,  This  is  the  thing  which  the  Lord  com- 

u  Nu.  11:  7,8. 


Tke  Sabbath  was  to  be  a  day  of  ces- 
sation from  ordinary  business.  Rest 
was  tlie  idea  of  it,  and  so  the  order 
was  for  every  man  to  abide  in  his 
place  —  lit.,  under  himself — with 
himself,  in  his  own  house.  Let  no 
man  go  out  of  his  place  on  the  seventh 
day.  From  this  injunction  it  was 
inferred  and  held  that  no  one  should 
go  farther  on  a  Sabbath  day  than 
the  distance  from  the  extremity  of 
the  camp  to  the  Tabernacle  which 
was  in  the  centre.  Tbe  Rabbins 
made  two  thousand  cubits  to  be  a 
Sabbath  day's  journey,  which  was 
about  three-fourths  of  a  mile — a 
very  short  distance.  And  this  reg- 
ulation was  enforced  on  the  ground 
that,  the  Lord  (Jehovah)  giveth  you 
the  Sabbath  as  a  free  gift,  and  a  gra- 
cious ordinance,  and  makes  His 
other  gifts  in  consistency  with  this, 
so  as  not  to  interfere  with  its  ob- 
servance. It  may  therefore  be  ex- 
pected and  it  has  everywhere  been 
found  that  men  who  seek  gain  by 
breaking  the  Sabbath  lose  every 
way — body  and  soul,  losing  the  ben- 
efits which  God  has  provided  in  the 
Sabbath  rest  from  worldly  care  and 
labors. 

30.  So  the  people  rested — in  obe- 
dience to  the  command,  and  in  the 
spirit  of  the  Sabbath.  God  rested 
on  the  seventh  day  from  His  crea- 
tion work.  The  resting  is  not  in- 
consistent with  works  of  necessity, 
and  mercy,  and  piety,  which  are 
of  such  a  nature  as  not  to  violate 
the  Sabbath  spirit :  neither  is  it 
meant  that  men  shall  simply  rest 
their  bodies  by  lounging  and'  indo-  ' 


lent  ease.  They  are  to  take  rest  in 
God — to  find  rest  for  the  soul  in 
Christ  —  to  take  the  benefit  of 
Christian  trust  in  His  covenant — 
and  to  embrace  the  provision  which 
He  freely  gives  —  the  heavenly 
manna — and  the  Personal  Bread  of 
Life,  which  is  Christ.  So  they  find 
Peace — His  Peace — and  the  bene- 
diction of  His  courts,  Grace,  Mercy 
and  Peace. 

32.  A  special  direction  is  here 
given  for  preserving  a  portion  of 
this  manna  as  a  specimen  to  be 
carried  about  with  them  in  their 
wilderness  march,  a  treasure  to  be 
deposited  along  with  the  most 
sacred  things  in  or  before  the  Ark 
of  the  Testimony.  No  other  mira- 
cle was  so  to  be  kept  in  remem- 
brance. The  reason  is  that  this 
manna  represented  Christ,  and  so 
He  Himself  teaches  in  John  6. 
Most  vital  gospel  truth  was  in- 
volved in  it,  as  we  there  find.  The 
Jews  demanded  of  Jesus  some  such 
miracle  as  they  ascribe  to  Moses  in 
the  manna.  They  believed  that 
the  Messiah  was  to  reproduce  the 
glories  of  the  Mosaic  theocracy,  as 
well  as  of  the  Kingdom  of  David. 
But  Jesus  corrects  their  notion,  and 
says,  Moses  gave  you  not  that  bread 
from  heaven.  Even  the  material, 
miraculous  manna,  did  not  come 
from  Moses,  but  my  Father  gave  it, 
as  He  now  giveth  you  also  what  is 
so  niuck  more  the  true  bread  from 
Heaven  (John  (j). 

If  That  they  may  see  the  bread. 
A  sample  was  to  be  sacredly  pre- 
served to  shew  the  future  genera- 


152 


EXODUS. 


mandeth,  Fill  an  oraer  of  it  to  be  kept  for  your  generations; 
that  they  may  see  the  bread  wherewith  I  have  fed  you  in  the 
wilderness,  when  I  brought  you  forth  from  the  land  of  Egypt. 

33  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  v  Take  a  pot,  and  put  an 
omer  full  of  manna  therein,  and  lay  it  up  before  the  Lord,  to 
be  kept  for  your  generations. 

34  As  the  Lord  commanded  Moses,  so  Aaron  laid  it  up  w 
before  the  Testimony,  to  be  kept. 

35  And  the  children  of  Israel  did  eat  manna  x  forty  years, 
until  they  came  to  a  land  inhabited:  they  did  eat  manna,  until 
they  came  unto  the  borders  y  of  the  land  of  Canaan. 

36  Now  an  omer  *  is  the  tenth  part  of  an  ephah. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

ND  all  the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel  journeyed 
.  from  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  a  after  their  journeys,  according 


v  He.  9:  4.  w  eh.  25:  16;  Nu.  1:  50;  17:  10;  IKi.  8:  9.  z  Nil.  I 
9:  21;  Jno.  6:  31-19.  y  Jos.  5:  12;  Ne.  9:  15.  z  Ver.  16,  32,  33. 
12:  4. 


:  8;  De.  8:  2,3;  Ne. 
a  ch.  16:  1;  Nu.  32: 


tions  of  what  sort  this  miraculous 
food  had  been.  So  there  is  provis- 
ion in  the  gospel  for  the  word  of 
Christ  to  be  set  forth  and  Christ 
Himself  to  be  exhibited  as  the 
Divine  sustenance  of  the  soul. 

33.  Lay  it  up  before  the  Lord. 
Before  Jehovah.  It  was  to  be  de- 
posited in  the  ark  of  the  Testimony 
(Heb.  9  :  4)  though  it  was  not  found 
inside  the  ark  in  Solomon's  time 
(I  Kings  8  :  9),  but  may  then  have 
been  carried  outside — hence  some 
suppose  that  "  before  the  Lord " 
means,  before  the  ark.  The  ark  was 
not  yet  made,  but  this  direction  was 
given  beforehand,  and  was  ohserved 
as  we  are  here  told,  when  the  Tab- 
ernacle was  built.     See  ch.  40  :  20. 

35.  Forty  years.  So  far  as  they 
had  need ;  not  however,  eating 
manna  alone,  but  all  along  their 
wilderness  journey,  they  had  the 
miraculous  supply  continued  to 
them — to  signify  in  the  type,  the 
permanency  of  Christ  as  the  gospel 
provision.  This  was  supplied  to 
them  until  they  reached  the  prom- 
ised land,  and  until  Moses  died. 
This  he  testifies  of,  as  the  historical 
fact  of  which  he  was  cognizant.  It 
was  no  longer  necessary  after  they 


had  come  to  a  land  inhabited  beyond 
the  wilderness. 

"Bread  of  Heaven 
Feed  me  till  I  want  no  more." 

36.  Moses  here  defines  the 
measure  called  an  omer. 

Lessons. — (1)  The  miracle  here 
is  a  type  and  prophecy  of  Christ, 
the  true  manna — the  Bread  of  Life. 
(2)  He  who  provides  for  the  soul 
also  provides  for  the  body.  (3)  This 
Bread  of  Life  which  Christ  is,  not 
only  sustains  life  but  gives  life 
(John  6  :)  (4)  Christ  gives  His  flesh 
for  men — His  broken  body.  We  par- 
take, by  faith,  the  benefits  of  His 
atoning  death.  (5)  His  Personal 
Presence,  also,  is  given  to  us  as  an 
Incarnate  Saviour — for  a  living  com- 
panion and  friend.  (6)  Our  spiritual 
supply  for  the  Sabbath  must  depend 
upon  what  we  gather  during  the 
week. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

§  36.    Murmuring  for  lack   op 
Water.  Horeb.— Ch.  XVII.  1-7. 

The  journeying  goes  on  under 
the  same  Divine  guidance,  and 
under    tho    leadership    of     Moses. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


153 


to  the  commandment  of  the  Lord,  and  pitched  in  Rephidim  : 
and  there  was  no  water  for  the  people  to  drink. 

2  Wherefore  the  people  did  chide  b  with  Moses,  and  said, 
Give  us  water  that  we  may  drink.  And  Moses  said  unto  them, 
Why  chide  ye  with  me  ?  wherefore  do  ye  tempt  c  the  Lord  ? 

3  And  the  people  thirsted  there  for  water;  and  the  people 
murmured  against  Moses,  and  said,  Wherefore  is  this  that  thou 
hast  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt,  to  kill  us  and  our  children  and 
our  cattle  with  thirst? 

4  And  Moses  cried  unto  the  Lord,  saying,  What  shall  I  do 
unto  this  people  ?  they  be  almost  ready  d  to  stone  me. 


1)  Xu.  20;  3,  4.    c  De.  6:  16;  Ps.  78:  18,  41;  95: 
d  ISa.  30:  6;  Jno.  8:  59;  10:  31;  Ac.  7:  59. 


Is.  7:  12;  Mat.  4:  7;  ICo.  10:  9. 


Having  now  lacked  bread  and  ob- 
tained a  miraculous  supply,  they 
soon  lack  water,  and  are  thrown 
into  a  new  distress  and  distrust  of 
God.  The  occasion  is  found  in  our 
human  want,  to  show  the  ample 
and  varied  resources  that  are  heaped 
up  in  Christ  as  Bread  of  Life  and 
Water  of  Life. 

1.  The  main  stations  are  given 
in  this  history,  though  from  the 
fuller  account  in  Numbers  we  find 
that  some  minor  stations  are  omitted. 
These  may  be  referred  to,  in  the 
clause  "after  their  journeys."  In 
Numb.  33  the  stations  Dophkah  and 
Alush  are  named  as  between  the 
wilderness  of  Sin  and  Kephidim, 
According  to  the  commandment — viz. 
— as  indicated  by  the  cloudy  pillar 
marking  the  way.  (See  Numb.  9  ; 
18,  19.)  Rephidim.  The  members 
of  the  recent  Ordnance  Survey  are 
not  agreed  as  to  this  station.  Cap- 
tains Wilson  and  Palmer  locate  it 
in  Wady  Feiran  under  Mount  Ser- 
bal.  Mr.  Holland  understands  that 
it  was  beyond  the  intersection  of 
Wady  Feiran  with  Wady  Sheikh, 
at  the  pass  of  Al  Watiyeh,  where 
the  conditions  of  the  narrative  as  to 
the  battle  seem  to  be  well  fulfilled. 
No  water.  In  that  hot  desert  region, 
this  was  a  most  serious  privation. 
Journeys  are  always  made  there  in 
reference  to  the  water-supplies, 
where  the  routes  are  familiar.  Here 
Moses  went  under  the  Divine  lead- 
ing.     Observe.      God    throws    us 

7* 


upon  our  own  inability  and  destitu- 
tion in  order  to  provoke  us  to  come 
and  draw  upon  Him. 

2.  The  people,  as  before  in  case 
of  lacking  bread,  now  complain  and 
lay  the  responsibility  upon  Moses. 
The  term  here  rendered  chide  tcith 
means  to  strive,  quarrel  with.  They 
demand  of  him  to  give  them  water, 
as  though  he  had  it  in  his  power,  or 
as  though  he  was  obligated  to  fur- 
nish them  with  a  supply.  Moses 
replies  that  their  chiding  and  re- 
proof of  him  is  unreasonable  and 
wicked,  that  it  is  a  tempting  of  Je- 
hovah, laying  the  blame  virtually 
upon  Him,  distrusting  His  care,  de- 
spite His  recent  miraculous  provis- 
ion, and  provoking  Him  to  anger  by 
their  bad  temper,  and  proud,  defiant 
spirit,  as  if  everything  belonged  to 
them,  and  forgetting  their  own  sin- 
ful ill-desert. 

3.  Thirsted.  The  agony  of  thirst 
was  that  which  wrung  from  Jesus 
the  outcry  on  the  cross  *  1  thirst,'  and 
it  is  expressive  of  all  the  most  intense 
craving.  Wherefore.  They  expos- 
tulate with  Moses,  as  if  he  had  pur- 
posely placed  them  in  this  fearful 
extremity,  and  had  knowingly  and 
wilfully  subjected  them  to  this  new 
distress,  which  threatened  their 
horrible  death. 

4.  This  led  Moses  to  cry  to  Jeho- 
vah as  before  at  Marah  (ch.  15  :  25). 
Only  here,  he  seems  to  be  in  fear  of 
his  life,  and  begged  of  God  to  know 
what  he  should  do  unto  them,  how 


154 


EXODUS. 


5  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Go  on  before  the  people, 
and  take  with  thee  of  the  elders  of  Israel;  and  thy  rod,  where- 
with thou  smotest  e  the  river,  take  in  thine  hand,  and  go  : 

6  Behold,  I  will  stand  before  thee  there  upon  the  rock  in 
Horeb;  and  thou  shalt  smite  the  rock,  and  there  shall  f  come 
water  out  of  it,  that  the  people  may  drink.  And  Moses  did  so 
in  the  sight  of  the  elders  of  Israel. 

7  And  he  called  the  name  of  the  place  Massah  and  Meribah, 


e  ch.  7:  20;  Nu. 


8-11. 


f  Ps.  105:  41;  114:  8;  lCo.  10:  4. 


lie  should  deal  with,  them,  and  treat 
them  in  their  desperation.  Heady 
to  stone  me.  Their  grievous  raging, 
maddening  thirst  drove  them  to  ex- 
pressions perhaps  purporting  vio- 
lence. Literally  it  reads  Yet  a  little 
and  they  will  stone  me.  How  blessed 
in  such  a  time  of  terror  and  trouble 
to  have  God  for  a  friend  and  coun- 
sellor, as  Moses  had  found. 

5.  He  is  directed  not  to  smite  the 
rebels  but  the  rock.  Go  on  before 
the  people — in  advance  of  them — and 
ta7ce  with  thee  of  the  elders  of  Israel, 
some  of  them,  as  official  witnesses 
representing  the  people,  that  there 
may  be  no  doubt  of  the  Divine  in- 
tervention. And  thy  rod — the  same 
rod  with  which  he  smote  the  river 
(Nile)  when  it  was  turned  into  blood 
—take  in  thine  hand  and  go.  For 
now  it  is  quite  as  easy  for  God  to 
bring  water  here  out  of  a  rock,  as  to 
have  turned  that  Nile  water  into 
blood. 

6.  1  will  stand  before  thee.  In 
the  cloudy  pillar.  The  rock  in  Ho- 
reb. This  was  just  beyond  Rephi- 
dim,  but  near.  God  promises  to 
stand  before  him  upon  the  rock. 
Repliidim  lay  in  the  plain  at  the 
foot  of  the  mount.  They  had  only 
to  advance  to  the  dry,  rugged  gran- 
ite cliff  overhanging  the  plain.  Ho- 
reb means  dry,  and  is  the  central 
group  of  the  range  of  Sinai.  If 
Repliidim  is  in  the  Wady  et  Sheikh, 
the  smitten  rock  is  probably  to  be 
found  in  Jebel  Musa.  This  Horeb 
mount  was  the  scene  of  the  great 
miracle  of  the  Burning  Bush : 
which  attested  Moses'  commission, 
and  revealed  the  indestructibility  of 


the  Church,  and  these  ideas  were  fit  to 
be  associated  with  this  miracle  of 
preserving  the  Church  in  a  sore  ex- 
tremity like  this  of  deadly  thirst. 
Smite  the  rock — with"  his  symbolical 
rod,  or  staff  of  power — and  there 
shall  come  water  out  of  it.  Where 
the  rock  was  smitten  cannot  now  be 
ascertained.  But  the  supply  was 
abundant.  Paul  refers  to  it  in  1 
Cor.  10 :  4,  where  he  speaks  as  if 
the  Rock  followed  them  through 
the  wilderness,  by  which  we  may 
suppose  that  the  abundant  supply  is 
meant.  "  And  they  drank  of  that 
spiritual  (symbolical)  Rock  which 
followed  them.  And  that  Rock  was 
Christ."  The  miracle  was  typical 
and  intended  to  represent  here  in 
the  lower  department  of  physical 
supply  that  greater,  higher  provis- 
ion in  the  gospel  which  can  be  found 
in  Christ  alone.  That  smitten  Rock 
was  meant  to  set  forth  Christ  as  the 
foreshadowed  and  all  sufficient  re- 
source, whose  smitten  body  should 
pour  out  an  immense  fulness  for 
His  people's  wants  in  all  this  wil- 
derness. "  And  of  His  fulness  have 
all  we  received  and  grace  for  grace" 
(John  1).  And  Moses  did  so  in  the 
sight  of  the  Elders  of  Israel,  before 
such  competent  official  men,  as 
witnesses. 

7.  Massah  meaning  temptation — 
referring  to  v.  2 — where  they  were 
charged  with  tempting  God.  See 
Matt.  4:  7.  And  Meribah:  mean- 
ing strife  or  chiding — See  v.  2. 
This  transaction  is  referred  to  in 
Heb.  3:8,  as  a  specimen  of  the 
people's  obstinancy  and  bitter  con- 
tention, and  as  a  warning  against 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


155 


because  of  the   chiding  of  the   children  of  Israel,  and  because 
they  tempted  the  Loud,  saving,  Is  the  Lord  among  us,  or  not  ? 

8  Then  came  s  Amalek,  and  fought  with  Israel  in  Rephidim. 

9  And  Moses  said  unto  Joshua,  Choose  us  out  men,  and  go 
out,  fight  with  Amalek :  to-morrow  I  will  stand  on  the  top  of 
the  hill  with  the  rod  of  God  in  mine  hand. 

s  Ge.  36:  12:  Nu.  24:  20. 


their  heart-hardening.  "  Harden 
not  your  hearts  as  in  the  provoca- 
tion (Meribah)  as  in  the  day  of 
temptation  (Massah)  in  the  wilder- 
ness— when  your  fathers  tempted 
me  (or  put  me  to  the  test)  proved 
me  and  (at  the  same  time)  saw  my 
works."  The  point  of  their  tempt- 
ing God  was  the  distrust  of  His 
Personal  presence.  In  effect  by 
their  doubting  and  complaining  at 
each  new  strait  they  said,  Is  Jehovah 
among  us,  or  not  f  {See  Appendix  C.) 

§  37.    Defeat   of    Amalek.     Ch. 
XVII :  8-16. 

8.  Then  came  Amalek.  "  The 
attack  upon  the  Israelites  was  made 
in  circumstances  at  a  time  and 
place,  fully  explained  by  what  is 
known  of  the  Peninsula.  It  oc- 
curred about  two  months  after  the 
Exodus,  towards  the  end  of  May,  or 
early  in  June,  when  the  Bedouins 
leave  the  lower  plains  to  find  pasture 
for  their  flocks  on  the  cooler  heights. 
The  approach  of  the  Israelites  to 
Sinai  would  of  course  attract  notice, 
and  no  cause  of  warfare  is  more 
common  than  a  dispute  for  the 
right  of  pasturage.  The  Amalekites 
were  at  that  time  the  most  power- 
ful race  in  the  Peninsula,  which 
from  the  earliest  ages  was  peopled 
by  fierce  and  warlike  tribes  with 
whom  the  Pharaohs,  from  the  third 
dynasty  downwards,  were  engaged 
in  constant  struggles  " — -Sp.  Com. 
Amalek  was  chief  of  the  heathen 
(Numb.  24:  20)  the  first  of  the 
heathen  who  attacked  God's  people, 
and  were  as  such  marked  out  for  pun- 
ishment, the  more  merited  as  they 
were  descendants  of  the  elder 
brother  of  Jacob,  and  therefore  near 


kinsmen  of  the  Israelites.  They 
were  descendants  of  Esau  and  held 
a  bitter  grudge  against  the  birth- 
right stock  ;  fearing  that  now  their 
subjection  was  to  be  completed. 
Their  attack  was  a  mean  cowardly 
assault  upon  the  rear  and  a  wicked, 
defiance  of  God.  Deut.  25 :  18. 
"  In  Amalek  the  heathen  world  com- 
menced that  conflict  with  the  people 
of  God,  which,  while  it  aims  at 
their  destruction,  can  be  terminated 
only  by  the  complete  annihilation  of 
the  ungodly  powers  of  the  world. 
— Keil. 

9.  Unto  Joshua.  This  great 
Captain  of  Israel's  host  here  first 
appears  in  the  history.  He  was  now 
about  45  years  old,  and  died  about 
65  years  after  this.  His  original 
name  was  Hosea,  Deliverance,  Sal- 
vation, and  was  changed  by  Moses 
to  the  fuller  name  that  incorpo- 
rates with  it  the.  name  of  Jehovah, 
and  means  Salvation  of  Jehovah, 
Jehoshua.  It  was  the  name  Jesus 
in  substance.  And  in  Hebrews  4 : 
8,  the  Greek  name  is  written  Jesus 
and  so  rendered  in  our  version. 
"  For  if  Jesus  (Joshua)  had  given 
them  rest  (in  Canaan)  etc,"  See 
also  Acts  7  :  45.  Keil  thinks  this 
name  was  given  to  him  at  the 
time  of  his  entering  Moses'  service 
either  before  or  after  the  battle 
with  Amalek  (see  Numb  13  :  16). 
Sp.  Com.  thinks  it  was  "  given  to  him 
about  forty  years  afterwards,  as  the 
name  by  which  he  was  to  be  known 
to  succeeding  generations."  Choose 
us  out  men.  Moses  had  achieved 
his  wonders  heretofore  simply  by 
his  rod  of  power.  Now,  however, 
he  resorts  to  the  arbitrament  of  war. 
Yet  he  will  use  his  wonder-working 
rod.      It   was    evidently   a   serious 


156 


EXODUS. 


10  So  Joshua  did  as  Moses  had  said  to  him,  and  fought 
with  Araalek :  and  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Hur,  went  up  to  the 
top  of  the  hill. 

11  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Moses  held  up  his  hand,  that 
Israel  prevailed;  and  when  he  let  down  his  hand,  Amalek  pre- 
vailed. 

12  But  Moses'  hands  loere  heavy ;  and  they  took  a  stone, 
and  put  it  under  him,  and  he  sat  thereon :  and  Aaron  and  Hur 
stayed  up  his  hands,  the  one  on  the  one  side,  and  the  other  on 
the  other  side;  and  his  hands  were  steady  until  the  going  down 
of  the  sun. 


conflict,  a  rallying  of  the  kingdom 
of  darkness  against  the  kingdom  of 
light — involving  the  most  serious 
consequences  for  the  church  and 
for  the  world.  He  will  have  in 
hand  the  same  rod,  to  show  that  the 
Lord  God  who  had  wrought  their 
deliverance  from  Pharaoh,  could 
deliver  them  now,  and  He  alone. 

10.  Moses,  Aaron  and  Hur.  Hur 
here  first  comes  into  view.  He  is 
said  by  tradition  to  have  been  the 
husband  of  Miriam,  and  thus  the 
brother-in-law  of  the  two  leaders. 
He  was  the  son  of  Caleb  the  fourth 
in  descent  from  Judah  (1  Chron.  2  : 
18-20).  The  hill  on  the  top  of 
which  Moses  stood,  is  involved  in 
much  doubt.  Mr.  Holland,  of  the 
Ordnance  Survey  locating  Rephidim 
at  al  Watiyeh,  finds  all  the  condi- 
tions of  the  narrative  satisfied,  and 
at  the  foot  of  the  conspicuous  sum- 
mit near,  the  Arabs  point  out  a  rock, 
which  they  call  "  the  Seat  of  the 
Prophet  Moses."  Captains  Wilson 
and  Palmer  locate  it  however  in  the 
Wady  Feiran  underMount  Serbal. 

11.  It  was  now  observed  that  the 
battle  seemed  to  turn  upon  the  up- 
lifting or  falling  of  Moses'  hands. 
Lifted  up,  the  battle  favored  Israel 
— but,  let  fall  the  battle  inclined  to 
Aamlek.  Both  hands  were  elevated 
or  lowered  at  intervals  to  show 
how  dependent  the  issues  were 
upon  the  symbolical  power-rod. 
Most  take  the  raising  of  the  hands 
as  the  attitude  of  prayer.  Some 
however  understand  it  as  the  atti- 
tude  of  superintendence  and  com- 


mand (Kurtz).  But  Moses  lifted  up 
his  hands  with  this  power-rod  as 
the  medium  of  God's  manifestation, 
uplifted  as  an  appeal  to  God  in  the 
spirit  of  believing  prayer.  It  was 
not  a  sign  to  the  Israelites,  but  a 
sign  to  God.  This  was  a  public 
confession  of  God.  And  it  is  put  on 
record  to  teach  the  world  the  great 
lesson  that  the  Church's  battles  can 
be  won  for  her  only  by  the  uplifted 
hands  of  prayer  and  that  her 
agencies  of  power  (whatever  won- 
der-working rod)  must  be  referred 
to  Him  and  must  point  upwards  to 
Him  in  order  to  be  efiective  for  vic- 
tory. Moses  was  the  Mediator  who 
foreshadowed  Christ,  interceding 
for  the  people.  Christ  "  ever  liveth 
to  intercede  for  us." 

12.  Were  heavy.  Grew  weary 
from  being  held  in  the  same  unnat- 
ural position  for  a  long  time.  As 
the  issues  turned  so  upon  their  po- 
sition, it  became  most  important 
that  his  hands  should  not  be  low- 
ered, but  be  held  up  continuously. 
An  expedient  was  now  used  to  ease 
his  position,  a  stone  for  his  seat  and 
Aaron  and  Hur,  one  on  either  side 
to  hold  up  his  hands.  So  it  was 
accomplished  that  "  his  hands  were 
steady  until  the  going  down  of  the 
sun."  This  shows  the  severity  of 
the  conflict.  The  Israelites  doubt- 
less brought  with  them  from  Egypt 
such  simple  implements  of  warfare 
as  were  mostly  in  use,  and  it  is  sug- 
gested they  may  have  gotten  some 
of  the  arms  of  the  Egyptians  after 
their  destruction  in  the  Sea.     It  was 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


157 


13  And  Joshua  discomfited  Amalek  and  his  people  with  the 
edge  of  the  sword. 

14  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Write  this  for  a  memo- 
rial in  a  book,  and  rehearse  it  in  the  ears  of  Joshua :  for  I  will 
utterly  put  out  the  remembrance  of  Amalek  h  from  under  heaven. 

15  And  Moses  built  an  altar,  and  called  the  name  of  it 
JEHO  VAH-nissi : 

16  For  he  said,  Because  the  Lord  hath  sworn  that  the  Loud 
will  have  war  with  Amalek  from  generation  to  generation. 


h  Nu.  24:  20;  De.  25:  19. 


no  mere  raid  of  $,  depredating  tribe. 
It  was  a  fierce  struggle  of  a  power- 
ful force,  well  trained  by  frequent 
battles  with  the  Egyptians. 

13.  The  edge  of  the  sword.  That 
is  with  great  slaughter,  without 
quarter  (Gen  34  :  26). 

14.  Write  this.  This  is  the  first 
mention  we  have  of  this  word  to 
write.  But  writing  was  now  famil- 
iar. This  event  was  so  important  and 
signal  as  to  be  worthy  of  a  perma- 
nent record.  In  a  book.  Rather — 
In  the  book,  showing  that  there  was 
such  a  book  containing  the  records 
of  God's  dealings  with  Israel.  We 
have  in  this  history  such  a  record 
as  Moses  might  be  supposed  to  have 
written  at  this  command.  The  Pen- 
tateuch, or  Book  of  the  Law,  is  the 
Book  to  which  similar  reference  is 
elsewhere  made,  and  written  bv  Mo- 
ses (see  Exod.  24:  4.  7;  34*  27; 
Numb.  33  :  1,  2 ;  36  :  13  ;  Deut.  28  : 
6]).  Rehearse  it.  Joshua  was  to 
have  recited  to  him  and  impressed 
upon  him  this  order  of  God  regard- 
ing Amalek,  since  Joshua  was  the 
chosen  Captain  who  was  now  to 
lead  Israel  in  their  conflicts,  and  he 
was  to  be  encouraged  by  this  de- 
clared purpose  of  God  against  the 
enemies  of  the  Church.  For  I  will. 
This  may  rather  read  That  I  will,  as 
the  record  to  be  written.  This  sen- 
tence was  fulfilled  under  the  reign 
of  Hezekiah,  when  500  of  the  tribe 
of  Simeon  "  smote  the  rest  of  the 
Amalekites  that  were  escaped,"  and 
retained  possession  of  Mount  Seir 
(1  Cbron.  4:  43).  In  Deut.  25:  19 
the  Israelites  were  commanded  to 


exterminate   Amalek   after   coming 
to  their  rest  in  Canaan. 

15.  Moses  makes  devout  recog- 
nition of  this  great  typical  event, 
the  Deliverance  of  the  Church  from 
assailing  enemies  and  the  discom- 
fiture of  the  foe.  He  built  an  altar, 
and  called  the  name  of  it  Jehovah- 
nissi.  Jehovah  my  banner.  The 
banner  under  which  Moses  professes 
to  fight  is  the  name  of  Jehovah,  the 
redemptive  name  of  God.  This  is 
the  stand  proper  to  be  taken  now  in 
the  presence  of  all  Israel,  and  in 
their  name,  by  their  appointed 
Leader.  It  is  a  public  confession  of 
Jehovah  as  the  Deliverer  of  His 
Church  and  people  in  every  conflict 
with  the  enemy.  And  in  this  name 
Jehovah,  the  Church  will  conquer. 
Ps.  110  :  1,  "  Jehovah  said  unto  my 
Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand  un- 
til I  make  thine  enemies  thy  foot- 
stool." This  is  the  decree  that  has 
gone  forth. 

16.  For  he  said  —  Because  etc. 
lit.,  The  hand  upon  the  throne  of 
Jehovah.  It  would  seem  to  refer  to 
the  hand  of  prayer  that  is  to  lay  hold 
upon  God's  throne,  after  the  exam- 
ple of  Moses,  and  as  the  rule  for  all 
ages  and  conflicts  of  the  Church. 
But  some  understand  it  of  Amalek's 
hand  set  against  the  throne  of  Jeho- 
vah, which  also  would  be  a  clear 
idea  (see  Murphy).  [Our  version 
understands  it  of  swearing  Thehand 
of  Jehovah  upon  the  throne.  But 
Jehovah  swears  by  Himself  and  not 
by  His  throne.]  A  reason  may  be 
understood  to  be  given  for  the  wag- 
ing of  an  exterminating  war  xipon 


158 


EXODUS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

¥HEN  a  Jethro,  the  priest   of  Midian,  Moses'  father-in-law, 
heard  of  all  that  God  had  done  for  Moses,  and  for  Israel 
his  people,  and  that  the  Lord  had  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt, 
2  Then  Jethro,  Moses'  father-in-law,  took  Zipporah,  Moses' 
wife,  after  he  had  sent  her  back, 


a  ch.  2:  16. 


Amalek,  that  his  hand  is  set  upon 
the  throne  of  Jehovah,  to  defeat  His 
counsels  for  His  Church  and  King- 
dom. 

Lessons — (1)  The  Church  of  God 
may  expect  enemies,  in  this  wilder- 
ness. (2)  Besides  providing  for  our 
hunger  and  thirst,  our  God  can  give 
victory  over  every  foe.  (3)  Prayer 
is  the  force  which,  like  a  law  in  na- 
ture, controls  the  results  in  keeping 
with  the  Divine  promises.  (4)  We 
may  not  only  pray  ourselves,  but  we 
may  hold  up  the  hands  of  others  in 
prayer.  Church  members  and  offi- 
cers may  hold  up  the  hands  of  their 
minister  in  prayer.  (5)  The  gates 
of  Hell  shall  not  prevail  against  the 
Church.  But  the  uplifted  hands  of 
believing  prayer  shall  prevail 
against  the  gates  of  Hell..  (6)  God 
covenants  to  fight  for  His  Church 
and  people,  because  their  foes  are 
His  foes  also. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

§  38.    Visit    of    Jethro,    Moses' 
Father-in-law.   Ch.  XVIII. 

As  in  the  conflfct  with  Amalek 
there  was  figured  forth  the  hostility 
of  the  world-kingdoms  to  the 
Church  and  kingdom  of  God,  so 
here  we  have  in  the  visit  of  the 
Midiauite  Jethro,  the  first  fruits  of 
the  heathen  in  the  future,  seek- 
ing the  living  God,  and  entering 
into  fellowship  with  the  people  of 
God.  Keil  further  suggests  that  as 
both  the  Amalekites  and  the  Midian- 
ites  were  descended  from  Abraham, 
and  stood  in  blood  relationship  to 


Israel,  we  have  here  foreshadowed 
and  typified  the  twofold  attitude 
which  the  heathen  world  would 
assume  towards  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Some  suppose  that  this  visit 
of  Jethro  must  have  occurred  some- 
time after  the  departure  from  Sinai 
chiefly  on  account  of  the  well  or- 
ganized condition  in  which  the 
people  are  found,  and  also  on  ac- 
count of  seeming  references  to  the 
giving  of  the  law,  as  in  offering 
sacrifices  (v.  12,  etc).  But  Keil  con- 
tends that  the  narrative  is  quite  in 
keeping  with  the  context,  and  there 
is  no  need  of  supposing  it  inter- 
jected here,  or  out  of  proper  order. 
So  Canon  Cook  in  Sp.  Com.  Since 
Moses,  while  tending  the  flocks  of 
Jethro,  had  led  them  as  far  as  "  the 
Mount  of  God  in  Horeb,"  he  is  now 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Jethro's  res- 
idence, who  was  "  the  priest  of 
Midian "  and  Moses'  father-in-law. 
Some  think  that  Jethro  was  Moses' 
brother-in-law.  Sp.  Com.,  see  ch.  2  : 
18-21.  When  he  heard — not  neces- 
sarily the  result  of  the  battle  with 
Amalek,  though  this  is  possible — 
but  of  all  that  God  had  done  for 
Moses  and  for  Israel  His  people  and 
that  the  Lord  had  brought  Israel  out 
of  Egypt.  There  was  doubtless  an 
understanding  that  Jethro  should 
bring  the  wife  and  sons  back  to 
Moses  when  he  should  arrive  at 
Horeb  as  God  had  promised,  (ch.  3  : 
12).  After  he  had  sent  her  back. 
This  clause  is  here  thrown  in  to 
state  the  fact  not  elsewhere  given 
that  Moses  had  sent  her  back  to  her 
father's  house.  It  is  thought  to 
have  been  at  the   circumcision  of 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


159 


3  And  her  two  sons ;  of  which  the  name  of  the  one  was 
Gershom  ;  (for  he  said,  I  have  been  an  alien  in  a  strange  land:) 

4  And  the  name  of  the  other  was  Eliezer  ;  (for  the"  God  of 
my  Father,  said  Ae,  was  my  help,  and  delivered  me  from  the 
sword  of  Pharaoh). 

5  And  Jethro,  Moses'  father-in-law,  came  with  his  sons  and 
his  wife  unto  Moses  into  the  wilderness,  Where  he  encamped  at 
the  mount  b  of  God  : 

6  And  he  said  unto  Moses,  I  thy  father-in-law  Jethro  am 
come  unto  thee,  and  thy  wife,  and  her  two  sons  with  her. 

7  And  Moses  went  out  to  meet  his  father-in-law,  and  did 
obeisance,  c  and  kissed  him:  and  they  asked  each  other  of 
their  welfare;  and  they  came  into  the  tent. 

8  And  Moses  told  his  father-in-law  all  that  the  Lord  had 
done  unto  Pharaoh  and  to  the  Egyptians  for  Israel's  sake,  and 
all  the  travail  that  had  come  upon  them  by  the  way,  and  how 
the  Lord  d  delivered  them. 

9  And  Jethro  rejoiced  e  for  all  the  goodness  which  the  Lord 
had  done  to  Israel,  whom  he  had  delivered  out  of  the  hand  of 
the  Egyptians. 

b  ch.  3:  1-12.      c  Ge.  29:  13;  33:  4.      d  Ps.  106:  43;  107:  2.      e  Ro.  12:  15. 


the  younger  son,  who  perhaps  was 
unable  to  proceed  further  at  the 
time,  (ch.  4  :  16).  Besides  he  may 
have  thought  that  on  such  a  mis- 
sion as  that  to  Pharaoh,  the  presence 
of  his  wife  and  children  would  be 
no  help  but  a  hindrance. 

3,  4.  Gershom.  lit.,  A  Stranger 
there — The  name  was  given  as  a  re- 
minder of  his  constrained  residence 
in  Midian  (see  ch.  2 :  22)  which  should 
also  be  a  memorial  to  his  son  of  his 
paternal  history— when  he  was  an 
alien — away  from  his  home,  for  his 
love  of  his  countrymen  and  country. 
Eliezer,  meaning  My  God  a  help, 
supposed  the  same  as  ch.  4 :  20-24. 
This  is  in  memory  of  his  deliver- 
ance from  the  punishment  of  Pha- 
raoh when  he  slew  the  Egyptian, — 
though  some  regard  it  as  prospect- 
ive. 

5.  Where  he  encamped.  TJie 
Mount  of  God  may  be  Horeb,  as  in 
ch.  3 :  1.  Horeb  is  also  a  more 
general  name  of  the  district.  But 
as  Horeb  bears  this  special  designa- 
tion there  would  seem  to  be  no  proof 
that  he  had  already  left  Sinai,  as 


Murphy  and  others  suppose.  It  is 
the  Mount  of  the  God — the  true 
God. 

6.  He  said — It  would  seem,  by  a 
messenger.  The  Sept.  Greek  reads 
"  And  it  was  told  to  Moses,"  etc. 

7.  Moses  receives  Jethro  with 
all  the  honors  due  to  his  rank  and 
relationship,  and  in  true  Oriental 
style.  Bid  obeisance.  We  have 
seen  the  sheikh  of  a  village,  or  the 
head  of  an  encampment  make  the 
most  profound  salutation  of  obei- 
sance to  one  regarded  as  of  higher 
rank,  or  to  one  of  near  kin.  Asked 
each  other  of  (their)  welfare,  or,  more 
properly  bade  each  other  peace,  the 
Oriental  salaam.  Came  into  the 
tent — the  mark  of  friendly  hospi- 
tality towards  Jethro. 

8  Moses  now  rehearsed  to  his 
father-in-law  God's  dealings  towards 
him — their  trials  and  deliverances 
— reciting  the  leading  items  in  the 
wondrous  history. 

9,  10,  11.  Jethro  was  full  of  joy 
at  this  narrative  of  the  events. 
And  he  so  expressed  himself  in  the 
language  of  sacred  praise.    Blessed 


160 


EXODUS. 


10  And  Jethro  said,  f  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hath  de- 
livered you  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians,  and  out  of  the 
hand  of  Pharaoh,  who  hath  delivered  the  people  from  under 
the  hand  of  the  Egyptians. 

1 1  Now  I  know  that  the  Lord  is  greater  than  all  s  gods  : 
for  in  the  thing  wherein  they  dealt  proudly  h  he  was  above 
them. 

12  And  Jethro,  Moses'  father-in-law,  took  a  burnt-offering 
and  sacrifices  for  God  :  and  Aaron  came,  and  all  the  elders  of 
Israel,  to  eat  bread  with  Moses'  father-in  law  i  before  God. 

13  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  morrow,  that  Moses  sat  to 
judge  the  people:  and   the  people  stood  by  Moses  from  the 


morning  unto  the  evening. 

f  2Sa.  18:  28;  Lu.  1:  68.      g  J>s.  95:  3;  97:  9. 
ICh.  29:  22;  ICo.  10:  21. 

h  Job.  40:  11;  Da.  4:  37. 

i  De.  12.  7; 

be  Jehovah.  He  most  distinctly 
acknowledges  and  confesses  the 
God  of  the  Hebrews  as  their 
mighty  deliverer,  in  a  conflict  with 
Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptians  thus 
proving  Himself  to  be  superior  to 
the  idols  of  Egypt.  JSfoio  I  know — 
Not  as  if  he  was  now  for  the  first 
time  convinced  of  this,  for  he  was 
probably  a  priest  of  the  true  God, 
as  Melchizedek  was.  Greater  than 
all  gods.  This  is  no  recognition  of 
the  Egyptian  idols  as  being  any 
real  gods,  however  inferior,  but  as 
being  claimed  to  be  such.  The 
Psalmist  so  expresses  himself  re- 
peatedly, "  For  the  Lord  is  a  great 
God,  and  a  great  King  above  all 
gods,"  etc.  Ps.  95  :  3,  97  :  9.  And 
in  Ps.  135  :  5,  this  is  the  language 
with  express  reference  to  these 
dealings  with  Egypt,  "  For  I  know 
that  the  Lord  is  great  and  that  our 
Lord  is  above  all  gods."  For  in  the 
thing  (lit)  wherein  they  dealt  proudly 
against  them — that  is,  the  Egyp- 
tians against  the  Israelites— God 
had  proved  His  preeminence  above 
all  heathen  idols  and  religions. 

12.  A  burnt-offering  and  bloody 
sacrifices.  The  burnt-offering  was 
expressive  of  entire  consecration — 
the  consuming  of  the  victim  signi- 
fying the  fullest  personal  surrender 
to  God.  The  bloody  sacrifices  ex- 
pressed the  sense  of  sin,  and  the 


idea  of  expiation  by  a  substitution- 
ary victim  and  sin-offerings — and 
they  were  also  Eucharistic,  making 
a  social  meal  for  thanksgiving  to 
God.  Jethro  was  thus  a  worship- 
per of  the  true  God,  and  knew  the 
meaning  of  sacrifice.  And  the  com- 
munion with  him  by  the  Elders  of 
Israel  shows  the  substantial  one- 
ness of  their  religious  faith.  Mel- 
chizedek also  was  a  priest  of  the 
Most  High  God.  So  that  the  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah  was  maintained 
among  the  people  outside  of  the 
Jewish  nation.  (See  Notes  on  Gen- 
esis, ch.  14:  18.)  Communion  with 
God  and  communion  with  one  an- 
other are  here  celebrated  in  this 
thanksgiving  meal.  How  appropri- 
ate was  all  this  devout  and  formal 
and  public  recognition  of  Jehovah's 
power  and  grace  towards  His 
Church  in  the  wilderness.  And 
that  it  should  have  been  done  by 
the  agency  of  this  Midianite  priest 
of  God,  who  was  here  publicly 
brought  into  communion  and  recog- 
nition before  the  Church,  is  most 
remarkable. 

13.  The  administration  of  jus- 
tice had  been  carried  on  in  Egypt 
by  the  patriarchal  rule  of  Elders. 
But  this  had  become  very  much 
superseded  by  the  Divine  legation 
of  Moses,  investing  him  with  per- 
sonal office  as  a  sovereign.     Now, 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


161 


14  And  when  Moses'  father-in-law  saw  all  that  he  did  to  the 
people,  he  said,  What  is  this  thing  that  thou  doest  to  the 
people  ?  why  sittest  thou  thyself  alone,  and  all  the  people  stand 
by  thee  from  morning  unto  even  ? 

15  And  Moses  said  unto  his  father-in-law,  Because  the  peo- 
ple come  unto  j  me  to  inquire  of  God  : 

16  When  they  have  a  matter,  they  come  unto  me  ;  and  I 
judge  between  one  and  another;  and  I  do  make  them  know 
the  statutes  of  God,  and  his  laws. 

17  And  Moses'  father-in-law  said  unto  him,  The  thing  that 
thou  doest  is  not  good. 

18  Thou  wilt  surely  wear  away,  both  thou,  and  this  people 

j  No.  15:  34;  27:  5;  De.  17:  8,  9. 


however,  the  burden  became  too 
heavy  in  this  disorganized  condition 
in  the  wilderness.  Moses  sat  to 
judge.  In  Oriental  cities  the  head 
or  chief  sits  in  the  open  space  at 
the  gate  to  receive  complaints  and 
hear  causes  brought  for  decision. 
Here  Moses  occupied  a  public,  con- 
spicuous position,  where  the  people 
might  gather  round  him  and  state 
their  cases,  and  have  them  ad- 
judged. This  was  the  first  oppor- 
tunity, probably,  that  had  offered 
since  the  outstart  of  their  march, 
at  any  rate  since  they  left  Elim, 
and  it  has  been  supposed  that  the 
battle  with  the  Amalekites  had 
furnished  numerous  cases  for  trial, 
as  to  dividing  the  spoils,  or  other 
questions,  or  various  grievances. 
A  whole  day  was  given  to  the 
work—; from  the  morning  unto  the 
evening.  And  it  would  be  most  ex- 
hausting to  Moses.  The  judge  sat 
— the  people  stood — that  is,  those 
whose  cases  were  on  trial. 

14.  Jethro,  seeing  this,  expostu- 
lates with  his  son-in-law,  at  the 
needless  task  borne  by  him,  thus 
alone. 

15,  16.  Moses  now  states  his 
office- work,  and  its  relations  to  the 
people  in  this  matter  of  judicial 
decisions.  The  people  come  unto 
me  to  inquire  of  God.  This  is 
understood  to  be  the  Divine  method 
for  learning  the  Divine  will.  It  is 
not  to  inquire  of  Moses  as  an  indi- 


vidual— but  of  Moses  as  the  organ 
and  oracle  of  God.  Magistrates  are 
ordained  of  God.  But  Moses  was 
Divinely  commissioned  as  leader  of 
tile  people,  and  Mediator  between 
God  and  them.  And  in  coming  to 
him  for  the  settlement  of  disputes 
between  themselves  they  recog- 
nized him  as  God's  mouth-piece  and 
vicegerent,  whose  decisions  were 
the  decisions  of  God  Himself  (ch. 
21:  6).  And  I  do  make  {them) 
know — Moses  declared  to  them  the 
principles  of  the  Divine  administra- 
tion, and  expounded  them  to  the 
people,  with  all  the  disadvantage, 
however,  of  having  no  written 
code.  Here  the  necessity  became 
most  apparent  for  the  publication 
of  a  Divine  code  as  was  so  soon  to 
be  done  at  Sinai.  God  allows  men 
thus  to  find  out  the  necessity  for 
the  further  revelations  He  is  about 
to  make. 

17-20.  The  method  practised  by 
Moses  was  declared  by  Jethro  to  be 
not  good — but  burdensome  and  ex- 
hausting both  to  Moses  and  to  the 
people,  and  therefore  not  suited  to 
secure  the  ends  of  justice.  Over- 
work— energies  of  mind  and  body 
overtaxed,  must  serve  to  cut  short 
the  valuable  lives  of  God's  ser- 
vants, and  therefore  should  be  pro- 
tested against  as  is  here  done  by 
Jethro.  Such  a  process  as  Moses', 
too,  would  often  defeat  justice  by 
the  necessary  delays  where  all  the 


1G2 


EXODUS. 


that  is  with  thee:  for  this  thing  is  too  heavy  k  for  thee  ;  thou 
art  not  able  to  perform  it  thyself  alone. 

19  Hearken  now  unto  my  voice,  I  will  give  thee  counsel  : 
and  God  shall  be  with  thee  :  be  thou  for  the  people  l  to  God- 
ward,  that  thou  mayest  bring  the  causes  unto  God : 

20  And  thou  shalt  teach  them  m  ordinances  and  laws,  and 
shalt  shew  them  the  way  wherein  they  must  walk,  and  the  work 
that  they  must  do. 

21  Moreover,  thou  shalt  provide  out  of  all  the  people  able 
men,  such  as  n  fear  God,  men  of  truth,  hating  covetousness  : 


k  De.  1:  9,  12.    1  ch.  20:  19;  De.  5:  5.    mDe.  4:  1; 
16:  18;  2Sa.  23:  3;  Job  29:  16;  31:  13. 


1,2;  Ne.  9:  14.    n  De.  1:  15-17: 


cases  must  wait  upon  the  attention 
and  decision  of  one  -man.  The 
division  of  labor  proposed  distribut- 
ing the  administration  of  justice 
among  several  courts  or  judges,  has 
been  found  necessary  in  all  civil- 
ized communities.  Jethro's  coun- 
sel is  now  given — and  it  is  most 
wise  and  faithful,  founded  on  the 
very  nature  of  things,  and  intended 
to  approve  itself  to  God  as  it  is  also 
conditioned  upon  His  approval. 
And  God  shall  be  with  thee.  This 
is  included  in  Jethro's  plan,  not 
that  Moses  should  do  without  God 
by  any  method  he  might  suggest, 
but  that  God's  presence  and  favor 
must  be  reckoned  upon.  Be  thou 
for  the  people  to  God-ward — before 
God.  (1)  Moses  is  to  be  the  Medi- 
ator or  Representative  standing  be- 
tween the  people  and  God,  and  in 
the  interest  of  the  people,  bringing 
their  causes  unto  God — laying  them 
before  God  as  advocate,  mediating 
as  a  representative  of  both  parties 
(Gal.  3 :  20).  (2)  Moses  is  to  be 
judge,  teacher,  and  expounder  of 
the  ordinances  and  laws,  showing 
the  people  the  way  to  go  and  the 
work  to  do.  So  he  is  to  give  judicial 
charges  and  decisions  in  the  lead- 
ing cases,  explaining  and  enforcing 
the  law.  But  for  his  relief  in  the 
details,  he  is  to  have  subordinate 
judges  to  decide  minor  causes  on 
trial.  Teach  them,  give  them  light 
—  instruct  them  in  dark  points. 
'*  There  are  here  four  points,  (a)  the 
ordinances,  or  specific  enactments, 


(b)  the  laws,  or  general  regulations, 

(c)  the  way — the  general  course  of 
duty, — (d)  the  work — each  specific 
act."     Sp.  Com. 

21.  Jethro  here  suggests  most 
important  advice  as  to  the  character 
and  quality  of  his  assistants.  There 
are  four  leading  qualifications  here 
set  forth,  that  may  be  held  requisite 
for  all  civil  officers,  and  especially 
forjudges,  who  administer  the  laws 
and  mete  out  justice  among  men. 
They  must  be  men  of  ability,  men 
of  piety,  men  of  truthfulness,  men  of 
unselfisliness.  Thou  shalt  provide. 
It  would  seem  from  Deut.  1 :  13  that 
Moses  left  the  selection  of  these 
captains  or  judges  to  the  people.  But 
he  seems  there  rather  to  propose  to 
them  Jethro's  plan  for  their  appro- 
val, and  then  he  proceeds  to  make 
the  officers.  "  So  I  took  the  chiefs 
of  your  tribes  and  made  them  heads 
over  you  "  (v.  15).  Able  men — lit., 
men  of  might,  men  of  moral  strength 
(1  Kings  1:  52).  Such  would  be 
the  men  of  real  force  of  character. 
The  same  phrase  is  rendered  men  of 
activity  (Gen.  47  :  6),  and  in  1 
Chron.  26  :  6/ mighty  men  of  valor.' 
These  were  to  be  military  captains, 
as  well  as  civil  judges.  They  were 
to  be  men  of  ability,  not  weak,  facile, 
inefficient,  unqualified  men,  but 
able  men.  Such  as  fear  God.  Pious 
men.  A  vital  requisite.  The  fear 
of  Jehovah  is  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom. Men  who  have  no  fear  of  God 
before  their  eyes  cannot  properly 
administer  justice,  and  are  not  fit  to 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


163 


and  place  such  over  them,  to  be  rulers  of  thousands,  and  rulers 
of  hundreds,  rulers  of  fifties,  and  rulers  of  tens  : 

22  And  let  them  judge  the  people  at  all  seasons :  and  it 
shall  be,  that  every  great  matter  they  shall  bring  unto  thee  ; 
but  every  small  matter  they  shall  judge  :  so  shall  it  be  easier 
for  thyself,  and  they  shall  bear  the  burden  °  with  thee. 

o  Nu.  11:  17. 


be  trusted  with  the  destinies  of  in- 
dividuals, much  less  of  the  State.  A 
man  who  robs  God  cannot  be  trust- 
ed with  deciding  upon  the  rights  of 
a  neighbor.  The  unjust  judge  was 
one  who  boldly  confessed  (to  him- 
self) that  he  feared  not  God  nor  re- 
garded man.  And  the  two  things 
go  together,  as  love  of  God  and  love 
of  man  go  together.  Hence  also,  a 
belief  in  a  future  state  of  Divine  re- 
wards and  punishments  is  counted 
requisite  to  qualify  a  man  for  ordin- 
ary office  in  the  state,  much  more 
for  being  a  judge.  Men  of  truth. 
Men  of  truth  alone  can  be  true  men. 
Falsity,  double-dealing,  disregard  of 
what  is  right  and  true,  are  vital  dis- 
qualifications for  administering  jus- 
tice. A  liar  on  the  bench  may  well 
be  the  terror  of  the  good.  A  man 
who  regards  not  his  own  word,  how 
can  he  hold  others  to  the  truth  ? 
One  who  is  himself  a  defrauder,  how 
can  he  decide  against  the  fraud  of 
another  ?  "  Thou  that  sayest  a  man 
should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal  ?  " 
Corrupt  judges  are  the  sorest  curse 
of  any  community.  And  hence  the 
election  of  judges  by  the  people 
opens  the  way  for  corruption  to  in- 
stal  itself  in  power  where  the  peo- 
ple themselves  have  lost  a  proper 
sense  of  virtue  and  rectitude.  Hat- 
ing covetousness.  What  a  stroke  at 
the  crying  sin  of  the  times  !  In 
every  age,  even  in  the  wilderness, 
such  a  quality  was  to  be  insisted  up- 
on for  the  conservation  of  society. 
Gain-hating.  Corrupt  judges  may 
have  the  temptation  of  making  their 
office  subservient  to  gain.  And  he 
that  is  accessible  to  bribes,  may  sub- 
vert justice  for  filthy  lucre.  Rulers 
of  thousands,  etc.  This,  it  will  be 
Been,  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the 


office  of  Elders  in  Numb.  11:  16, 
who  were  only  seventy,  and  these 
captains,  or  chiefs,  as  judges,  have 
been  reckoned  as  numbering  78,600. 
But  these  officers  were  not  to  super- 
sede the  original  patriarchal  rule  by 
which  the  father  of  a  family  was 
the  governor  of  his  household  and 
clan,  during  life.  It  has  been  reck- 
oned that  "  taking  twenty  to  be  the 
reasonable  average  of  a  grandfa- 
ther's family,  ten  such  families 
would  amount  to  200  individuals, 
and  ten  such  heads  are  the  smallest 
number  allowed  by  the  Talmudists 
to  constitute  a  synagogue.  In  a 
people  of  at  least  1,600,000  there 
would  thus  be  8,000  rulers  of  tens, 
1600  rulers  of  fifties,  800  rulers  of 
hundreds,  and  80  rulers  of  thousands 
— making  10,480  rulers  in  all." — 
Murphy.  Keil  says,  "These  family 
groups,  larger  or  smaller,  were  not 
every  one  to  have  a  judge  of  its  own, 
for  the  judges  were  to  be  chosen  out 
of  these  heads,  and  must  have  been 
fewer,  in  all  amounting  to  not  many 
hundreds." 

22.  At  all  seasons.  These  judges 
were  to  sit  at  all  times  as  occasion 
might  require.  And  this  subdivis- 
ion of  labor  would  very  much  light- 
en the  burden  of  Moses.  Every 
great  matter  was  to  be  brought  be- 
fore him,  as  the  highest  tribunal, 
while  minor  cases  could  be  disposed 
of  by  the  inferior  judges.  Where 
the  case  was  one  of  most  grave  im- 
port, involving  the  most  serious 
questions,  and  most  intricate  and 
difficult  of  solution,  it  was  to  be  re- 
ferred to  Moses.  Cases  might  even 
be  appealed  to  him  from  the  lower 
tribunals.  And  they  shall  bear. 
"  This  constitution  of  the  tribes  with 
the  subordinate  degrees  of  sheikhs, 


164 


EXODUS. 


23  If  thou  shalt  do  this  thing,  and  God  command  P  thee  so, 
then  thou  shalt  be  able  to  endure,  and  all  this  people  shall  also 
go  to  <i  their  place  in  peace. 

24  So  Moses  hearkened  to  the  voice  of  his  father-in-law, 
and  did  all  that  he  had  said. 

25  And  Moses  chose  able  men  out  of  all  Israel,  and  made 
them  heads  over  the  people,  rulers  of  thousands,  rulers  of  hun- 
dreds, rulers  of  fifties,  and  rulers  of  tens. 

26  And  they  judged  the  people  at  all  seasons :  the  hard 
causes  they  brought  unto  Moses,  but  every  small  matter  they 
judged  themselves. 

27  And  Moses  let  his  father-in-law  depart ;  and  r  he  went 
his  way  into  his  own  land. 

p  ISa.  8:  7.        q  Ge.  30:  25.        r  Nil.  10:  29-30. 


recommended  to  Moses  by  Jetb.ro  is 
the  very  same  wbicb  still  exists 
amongst  those  who  are  possibly  bis 
lineal  descendants,  tbe  gentle  race 
of  the  Towara." — Stanley. 

23.  If  Moses  should  follow  this 
course  and  God  so  command  him 
— that  is  supposing  always  that  this 
plan  should  have  the  Divine  ap- 
proval, then  Moses  shall  be  able  to 
endure.  Jethro  here  will  have  it 
understood  that  his  counsel  is  first 
to  be  submitted  to  the  Divine  direc- 
tion. The  Gr.  reads  "  If  thou  wilt 
do  this,  God  will  strengthen  thee 
and  thou  shalt  be  able  to  stand." 
Luther — "  If,  then,  thou  canst  judge 
as  God  bids  thee."  Vulg — "  Thou 
shalt  fulfil  the  government  of  God, 
and  His  precepts  thou  shalt  be  able 
to  sustain."  But  the  English  ver- 
sion is  required  by  the  terms,  Go  to 
their  place  in  peace.  Satisfied, 
without  complainings,  and  without 
the  disturbances-  which  else  would 
be  liable  to  break  out.  This  may 
mean  shall  go  to  their  tents  in 
peace,  after  the  decisions,  or  shall 
go  to  their  place  or  land  of  Canaan, 
in  peace  and  satisfaction. 

24.  Moses  hearkened—  gave  re- 
spectful attention  to  his  father-in- 
law,  and  followed  his  advice,  and 
when  he  had  received  for  it  the 
Divine  approval,  which  was  part  of 
the  advice,  he  put  the  measure  into 
operation.     It  was  a  most  suitable 


organization  for  judicial  processes, 
during  the  wilderness  estate — to  be 
surpassed  by  a  more  advanced  ar- 
rangement when  they  should  arrive 
in  the  Holy  Land.  *  Deut.  16 :  18. 
Such  exemplary  deference  did  Moses 
pay  to  his  relative,  though  himself 
so  superior  in  rank,  only  that  Jethro 
was  a  priest  of  God,  and  Moses  was 
meek. 

25.  Moses  chose.  The  people 
nominated  and  Moses  chose  from 
such.  The  appointment  was  with 
Moses. 

27.  And  Moses  let  his  father-in- 
law  depart,  lit.,  dismissed  his  father- 
in-law.  And  he  went  his  way  into 
his  own  land  of  Midian.  The  usual 
formalities  and  courtesies  of  send- 
ing away  a  distinguished  guest, 
were  doubtless  observed — the  escort 
— the  partings,  etc.,  suitable  to  the 
person  and  the  relations.  We  learn 
very  little  of  the  two  sons  of  Moses. 
He  seems  not  to  have  put  them  in 
high  official  positions,  as  many  an- 
other— if  commanding  such  im- 
mense patronage — would  have 
done. 

Lessons.  (1)  How  blessed  is  it 
where  all  the  branches  of  the  house- 
hold, not  only  blood  relatives  but 
marriage  kin,  are  godly.  The  coun- 
sel of  such  may  serve  one  in  most 
trying  times.  (2)  A  true  servant  of 
God  may  give  valuable  counsel  to 
one   most   exalted  in    secular    and 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


165 


civil  rank.  (3)  Overtasking  one's 
self,  even  in  religious  duties,  is  a 
cutting  short  of  one's  days,  and 
should  be  religiously  avoided.  (4) 
Division  of  labor  best  serves  the 
cause  of  justice  and  charity.  (5) 
Judges  of  the  people  ought  to  be 
able,  pious,  truthful  and  unselfish. 
(6*)  Government  is  a  Divine  ordi- 
nance— and  good  law  is  the  basis  of 
true  liberty.  (7)  God's  approval 
should  be  the  qualifying  conditions 
of  all  our  counsel  to  others  and  of 
all  our  action  for  ourselves.  (8) 
Courtesies  in  the  family  are  most 
fitting  and  beautiful.  How  charm- 
ing to  see  the  most  exalted  in  sta- 
tion pay  respect  to  their  obscure 
kindred,  and  defer  to  their  pious 
advice,  where  it  is  approved  of 
God. 

This  historical  narrative,  includ- 
ing Book  I  and  Book  II,  brings  us 
to  Sinai,  and  introduces  us  to  the  le- 
gal transactions  here  put  on  record. 
The  grand  Redemptive  fact  now  so 
signally  accomplished  is  to  stand  as 
the  Preface  to  the  Law  which  the 
people  are  now  to  receive  at  the 
hand  of  Jehovah.  The  connection 
is  strictly  evangelical.  The  Gospel 
proclaims  the  Redemption  by  Christ 


Jesus  as  the  highest  motive  to  obe- 
dience. "  I  am  the  Lord  (Jehovah) 
thy  (covenant)  God,  which  have 
brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
out  of  the  house  of  bondage.  Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me 
(in  my  presence) — Chap.  20  :  2,  3. 
So  the  finished  work  of  Jesus  Christ 
for  man's  Redemption  is  the  preface 
to  the  Gospel  obligations  :  and  grat- 
itude for  what  has  already  been  done 
for  us  is  the  grand  gospel  motive  to 
new  obedience.  The  Law  cannot  be 
properly  understood  in  any  of  its 
commandments  except  in  the  light 
of  the  Gospel.  Morality,  that  is  not 
Gospel  morality  on  Christian  prin- 
ciples of  loving  return  for  Redeem- 
ing Love,  cannot  be  a  pure  morality. 
It  may  have  the  form,  but  it  lacks 
the  spirit,  and  leaves  Christ  and 
His  salvation  out  of  view.  Jesus 
has  cleft  the  sea  for  us,  and  has 
spoiled  our  enemies  who  are  His  en- 
emies also,  and  now  the  song  of 
victory  may  be  already  on  our  lips, 
and  as  the  Redeemed  people  of  God 
we  are  to  receive  the  law  from  His 
mouth,  and  to  have  no  other  gods 
in  His  presence,  and  to  march  under 
His  escort  through  all  this  wilder- 
ness, to  the  heavenly  Canaan. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX    A. 

HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  OLD   TESTAMENT. 
By  Rev.  G.  C.  Rawlinson,  M.  A., 

Camden  Professor  of  Ancient  History,  Oxford. 

The  narrative  contained  in  the  four  books — Exodus,  Leviticus,  Num- 
bers, and  Deuteronomy — covers  a  space  of  probably  less  than  two  centu- 
ries ;  and  the  scene  is  chiefly  laid  in  countries  of  which  profane  history 
tells  us  little  or  nothing  at  this  early  period.  Illustration  of  the  narrative 
from  profane  sources  must,  therefore,  be  almost  entirely  confined  to  that 
portion  of  it  which  precedes  the  departure  from  Egypt,  or,  in  other  words, 
to  the  time  during  which  the  descendants  of  Abraham  remained  in  close 
contact  with  a  civilized  nation,  whose  records  and  monuments  have  come 
down  to  us.  The  same  kind  of  agreement  between  the  details  of  the  Bib- 
lical narrative  and  the  usages  known  to  have  prevailed  in  ancient  Egypt, 
which  has  been  pointed  out  with  respect  to  the  latter  part  of  Genesis, 
may  be  traced  likewise  here  ;  and  further,  the  Exodus  itself,  or  withdrawal 
from  Egypt  of  an  oppressed  portion  of  the  population,  and  their  settle- 
ment in  southern  Syria  or  Palestine,  may  be  shown  to  have  left  traces  in 
Egyptian  literature,  traces  which  quite  unmistakably  point  to  some  such 
series  of  transactions  as  those  recorded  in  the  sacred  volume. 

In  proof  of  this  latter  point,  to  which  precedence  may  be  assigned  on 
account  of  its  exceeding  interest,  an  exact  translation  will,  in  the  first 
place,  be  given  of  two  passages,  one  from  the  early  Egyptian  writer,  Ma- 
netho,  and  the  other  from  a  later  author  of  the  same  nation,  Chseremon, 
both  of  whom  were  priests  and  learned  in  the  antiquities  of  their  country. 

Manetho  (as  reported  by  the  Jewish  historian  Josephus  *)  said : 

"  A  king,  named  Amenophis,  desired  to  behold  the  gods,  like  Horus, 
one  of  his  predecessors,  and  imparted  his  desire  to  his  namesake,  Ameno- 
phis, son  of  Paapis,  who  on  account  of  his  wisdom  and  acquaintance  with 
futurity  was  thought  to  be  a  partaker  of  the  divine  nature.  His  name- 
*  Contr.  Apion.  i.  26,  27. 


168  APPENDIX. 

sake  told  liim  that  lie  would  be  able  to  see  the  gods,  if  he  cleansed  the 
whole  country  of  lepers  and  the  other  polluted  persons  in  it.  The  king 
was  pleased,  and  collecting  together  all  that  had  any  bodily  defect 
throughout  Egypt,  to  the  number  of  80,000,  he  cast  them  into  the  stone- 
quarries  which  lie  east  of  the  Nile,  in  order  that  they  might  work  there 
together  with  the  other  Egyptians  employed  similarly.  Among  them 
were  some  of  the  learned  priests  who  were  afflicted  with  leprosy.  But 
Amenophis,  the  sage  and  prophet,  grew  alarmed,  fearing  the  wrath  of 
the  gods  against  himself  as  well  as  against  the  king,  if  the  forced  labor 
of  the  men  were  observed,  and  he  proceeded  to  foretell  that  there  would 
come  persons  to  the  assistance  of  the  unclean,  who  would  be  masters  of 
Egypt  for  thirteen  years.  But  as  he  did  not  dare  to  say  this  to  the  king, 
he  put  it  all  in  writing,  and  leaving  the  document  behind  him,  killed  him- 
self. Hereupon  the  king  was- greatly  dejected;  and  when  the  workers  in 
the  stone-quarries  had  suffered  for  a  considerable  time,  the  king,  at  their 
request,  set  apart  the  city  of  Avaris,  which  was  empty,  having  been  de- 
serted by  the  shepherds.  Now  this  place,  according  to  the  mythology, 
was  of  old  a  Typhonian  town.  So  when  the  people  had  entered  the  city, 
and  had  thus  a  stronghold  on  which  to  rest,  they  appointed  as  their  lead- 
er a  priest  of  Heliopolis,  by  name  Osarsiph,  and  swore  to  obey  him  in  all 
things.  And  he,  first  of  all,  gave  them  a  law,  that  they  should  worship 
no  gods,  and  should  abstain  from  none  of  the  animals  accounted  most 
holy  in  Egypt,  but  sacrifice  and  consume  all  alike  ;  and  further,  that  they 
should  associate  with  none  but  their  fellow-conspirators.  Having  estab- 
lished these  and  many  other  laws  completely  opposed  to  the  customs  of 
Egypt,  he  commanded  the  bulk  of  them  to  build  up  the  town  wall,  and  to 
make  themselves  ready  for  a  war  with  Amenophis,  the  king.  After  this, 
having  consulted  with  some  of  the  other  priests  and  polluted  persons,  he 
sent  ambassadors  to  the  shepherds,  who  had  been  driven  out  of  Egypt  by 
Tethmosis,  to  the  city  which  is  called  Jerusalem,  and  after  informing 
them  about  himself  and  his  fellow-sufferers,  invited  them  to  join  with 
him  in  an  attack  upon  Egypt.  He  would  bring  them,  he  said,  in  the  first 
place,  to  Avaris,  the  city  of  their  forefathers,  and  would  provide  them  am- 
ply with  all  that  was  necessary  for  their  host  ;  he  would  fight  on  their 
behalf,  when  occasion  offered,  and  easily  make  the  country  subject  to 
them.  They,  on  their  part,  were  exceedingly  rejoiced,  and  promptly  set 
out  in  full  force,  to  the  number  of  200,000  men,  and  soon  reached  Avaris. 
Now  when  Amenophis,  the  Egyptian  king,  heard  of  their  invasion,  he  was. 
not  a  little  disquieted,  since  he  remembered  what  Amenophis,  the  son  of 
Paapis,  had  prophesied  ;  and  though  he  had  previously  collected  together 
a  vast  host  of  Egyptians,  and  had  taken  counsel  with  their  leaders,  yet 
soon  he  gave  orders  that  the  sacred  animals  held  in  the  most  repute  in  the 
various  temples  should  be  conveyed  to  him,  and  that  the  priests  of  each 
temple  should  hide  away  the  images  of  the  gods  as  securely  as  possible- 


APPENDIX.  169 

Moreover  lie  placed  his  son,  Setlios — called  also  Ramesses,  after  Rampses, 
his  (i.  e.  Amenophis')  father — who  was  a  boy  of  five  years  old,  in  the 
hands  of  one  of  his  friends.  He  then  himself  crossed  the  river  with  the 
other  Egyptians,  300,000  in  number,  all  excellent  soldiers  ;  but  when  the 
enemy  advanced  to  meet  him,  he  declined  to  engage,  since  he  thought 
that  it  would  be  fighting  against  the  gods,  and  returned  hastily  to  Mem. 
phis.  Then,  carrying  with  him  the  Apis  and  the  other  sacred  animals 
which  had  been  brought  to  him,  he  proceeded  at  once  with  the  whole 
Egyptian  army  to  Ethiopia.  Now  the  king  of  Ethiopia  lay  under  obliga- 
tions to  him  ;  he  therefore  received  him,  supplied  his  host  with  all  the 
necessaries  that  his  country  afforded,  assigned  them  cities  and  villages 
sufficient  for  the  fated  thirteen  years'  suspension  of  their  sovereignty,  and 
even  placed  an  Ethiopian  force  on  the  Egyptian  frontier  for  the  protection 
of  the  army  of  Amenophis.  Thus  stood  matters  in  Ethiopia.  But  the 
Solymites  who  had  returned  from  exile,  and  the  unclean  Egyptians,  treat- 
ed the  people  of  the  country  so  shamefully,  that  their  government  ap- 
peared, to  those  who  witnessed  their  impieties,  to  be  the  worst  Egypt  had 
known.  For  not  only  did  they  burn  cities  and  hamlets,  nor  were  they 
content  with  plundering  temples  and  ill-treating  the  images,  but  they  con- 
tinued to  use  the  venerated  sacred  animals  as  food,  and  compelled  the 
priests  and  prophets  to  be  their  slayers  and  butchers,  and  then  sent  them 
away  naked.  And  it  is  said  that  the  priest  who  framed  their  constitution 
and  their  laws,  who  was  a  native  of  Heliopolis,  named  Osarsiph,  after  the 
Heliopolitan  god  Osiris,  after  he  joined  this  set  of  people,  changed  his 

name,  and  was   called  Moses Afterwards,  Amenophis   returned 

from  Ethiopia  with  a  great  force,  as  did  his  son  Rampses,  who  was  like- 
wise accompanied  by  a  force,  and  together  they  engaged  the  shepherds  and 
the  unclean,  and  defeated  them,  slaying  many  and  pursuing  the  remain- 
der to  the  borders  of  Syria." 

The  statement  of  Chaeremon  is  as  follows  :  * 

"  Isis  having  appeared  to  Amenophis  in  his  sleep,  and  reproached  him 
because  her  temple  had  been  destroyed  in  the  (shepherd)  war,  Phritiphan- 
tes,  the  sacred  scribe,  informed  him  that  if  he  would  purge  the  land  of 
Egypt  of  all  those  who  had  any  pollution  he  would  be  subject  to  no  more 
such  alarms.  So  he  collected  250,000  denied  persons,  and  expelled  them 
from  the  country.  Two  scribes,  called  Moses  and  Joseph,  led  them  forth  ; 
the  latter  of  whom  was,  like  Phritiphantes,  a  sacred  scribe  ;  and  both  of 
these  men  had  Egyptian  names,  the  name  of  Moses  being  Tisithen,  and 
that  of  Joseph  Peteseph.  They  proceeded  to  Pelusium,  and  there  fell  in 
with  380,000  persons,  who  had  been  left  behind  by  Amenophis,  because 
he  did  not  like  to  bring  them  into  Egypt.  So  they  made  an  alliance  with 
these  men  and  invaded  Egypt  ;  whereupon  Amenophis,  without  waiting 
for  them  to  attack  him,  fled  away  into  Ethiopia,  leaving  his  wife,  who 

*  Ap.  Joseph,  c.  Apion.,  §  32. 

8 


170  APPENDIX. 

was  pregnant,  behind  him.  And  she,  having  hid  herself  in  some  caves 
gave  birth  there  to  a  son,  who  was  cabled  Messenes,  who,  when  he  came  to 
man's  estate,  drove  the  Jews  into  Syria,  their  number  being  about  200,000, 
and  received  back  his  father  Amenophis  out  of  Ethiopia." 

From  these  passages  it  appears  (1)  that  the  Egyptians  had  a  tradition 
of  an  Exodus  from  their  country  of  persons  whom  they  regarded  as  un- 
clean, persons  who  rejected  their  customs,  refused  to  worship  their  gods, 
and  killed  for  food  the  animals  which  they  held  as  sacred  ;  (2)  that  they 
connected  this  Exodus  with  the  names  of  Joseph  *  and  Moses ;  (3)  that 
made  southern  Syria  the  country  into  which  the  unclean  persons  with- 
drew ;  and  (4)  that  they  placed  the  event  in  the  reign  of  a  certain  Ameno- 
phis, son  of  Rameses  or  Rampses,  and  father  of  Sethos,  who  was  made  to 
reign  toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  or  about  b.  c.  1400- 
1300.  f  The  circumstances  by  which  the  Exodus  was  preceded  are  repre- 
sented differently  in  the  Egyptian  and  in  the  Hebrew  narrative,  either  be- 
cause the  memory  of  some  other  event  is  confused  with  that  of  the  Jewish 
Exodus,  or  because  the  Egyptian  writers,  being  determined  to  represent 
the  withdrawal  of  the  Jews  from  Egypt  as  an  expulsion,  were  driven  to 
invent  a  cause  for  the  expulsion  in  a  precedent  war,  and  a  temporary  do- 
minion of  the  polluted  persons  over  their  country.  Among  little  points 
common  to  the  two  narratives,  and  tending  to  identify  them  are  the  fol- 
lowing : — (1)  the  name  of  Avaris,  given  to  the  town  made  over  to  the  pol- 
luted persons,  which  stands  in  etymological  connection  with  the  word  "  He- 
brew ;  "  (2)  the  character  of  the  pollution  ascribed  to  them,  leprosy, 
which  may  be  accounted  for,  first,  by  the  fact  that  one  of  the  signs  by 
which  Moses  was  to  prove  his  Divine  mission  consisted  in  the  exhibition 
of  a  leprous  hand  (Ex.  iv.  6),  and,  secondly,  by  the  existence  of  this  malady 
to  a  considerable  extent  among  the  Hebrew  people  at  the  time  (Lev.  xiii. 
and  xiv.) ;  (3)  the  mention  of  Heliopolis  as  the  city  to  which  the  leader 
belonged,  and  the  assignment  to  him  of  priestly  rank,  which  arises  natu- 
rally out  of  the  confusion  between  Moses  and  Joseph  (Gen.  xli.  45) ;  (4) 
the  employment  of  the  polluted  persons  for  a  time  in  forced  labor  ;  (5)  the 
conviction  of  Amenophis  that  in  resisting  the  polluted  he  was  "  fighting 
against  the  gods  ;  "  (6)  his  fear  for  the  safety  of  his  young  son,  which  re- 
calls to  our  thoughts  the  last  and  most  awful  of  the  plagues  ;  (7)  the 
sending  away  of  the  priests  "  naked,"  which  seems  an  exaggeration  of  the 

*  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Israelites  did  carry  with  them  out  of  Egypt  the 
body  of  Joseph  (Exod.  xiii.  19),  and  that  there  was,  thus,  some  foundation  for  the  Egyp- 
tian notion,  that  Moses  and  Joseph  led  them  out. 

t  Egyptian  chronology  and  the  date  of  the  Exodus  are,  both  of  them,  still  unsettled. 
M.  Lenormant  places  the  accession  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty  in  b.  c.  14(52  {Manuel 
d^Histoire,  torn.  i.  p.  321)  ;  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  in  b.  c.  1324  (Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol. 
ii.  p.  308,  2ded.)  ;  Mr  Stuart  Poole  about  b.  c.  1340  {Biblical  Dictionary,  vol.  i.  p.  511). 
The  date  of  the  Exodus  is  variously  given,  as  b.  c.  1648  (Hales),  1652  (Poole),  1491  (Ush- 
er, Kalisch),  and  1320  (Lepsius). 


APPENDIX.  171 

"  spoiling  of  the  Egyptians  ; "  and  (8)  the  occurrence  of  the  word  "  Rame- 
ses  "  in  the  Egyptian  royal  house,  which  harmonizes  with  its  employment 
at  the  time  as  a  local  designation  (Ex.  i.  11  ;  xii.  37). 

Another  curious  account  of  the  Exodus  was  given  by  Hecatseus,  a 
Greek  of  Abdera,  who  nourished  in  the  time  of  Alexander,  and  was  famil- 
iar with  Ptolemy  Lagi,  the  first  Greek  king  of  Egypt.  This  writer,  as  re- 
ported by  Diodorus,  *  said : — 

"  Once  when  a  plague  broke  out  in  Egypt,  the  people  generally  as- 
cribed the  affliction  to  the  anger  of  the  gods  ;  for  as  many  strangers  of 
different  races  were  dwelling  in  Egypt  at  the  time,  who  practised  various 
strange  customs  in  their  worship  and  their  sacrifices,  it  had  come  to  pass 
that  the  old  religious  observances  of  the  country  had  fallen  into  disuse. 
The  natives,  therefore,  believing  that  unless  they  expelled  the  foreigners 
there  would  be  no  end  to  their  sufferings,  rose  against  them,  and  drove 
them  out.  Now  the  noblest  and  most  enterprising  joined  together,  and 
went  (as  some  say)  to  Greece  and  elsewhere,  under  leaders  of  good  repute  ; 
the  most  remarkable  of  whom  were  Danaus  and  Cadmus.  But  the  bulk 
of  them  withdrew  to  the  country  which  is  now  called  Judaea,  situated  at 
no  great  distance  from  Egypt,  and  at  that  time  without  inhabitants.  The 
leader  of  this  colony  was  the  man  called  Moses,  who  was  distinguished 
above  his  fellows  by  his  wisdom  and  his  courage.  Having  taken  pos- 
session of  the  country,  he  built  there  a  number  of  towns,  and  among  them 
the  city  which  is  called  Jerusalem,  and  which  is  now  so  celebrated.  He 
likewise  built  the  temple  which  they  hold  in  so  much  respect,  and  insti- 
tuted their  religious  rites  and  ceremonies  ;  besides  which  he  gave  them 
laws  and  arranged  their  form  of  government.  He  divided  the  people  into 
twelve  tribes,  because  he  regarded  12  as  the  most  perfect  number, 
agreeing,  as  it  does,  with  the  number  of  months  that  complete  the  year. 
But  he  would  not  set  up  any  kind  of  image  of  the  deity,  because  he  did 
not  believe  that  God  had  a  human  form,  but  regarded  the  firmament 
which  surrounds  the  earth  as  the  only  God  and  Lord  of  all.  And  he 
made  their  sacrifices  and  their  habits  of  life  quite  different  from  those 
of  other  nations,  introducing  a  misanthropic  and  inhospitable  style  of 
living,  on  account  of  the  expulsion  which  he  had  himself  suffered." 

With  this  may  be  compared  the  remarkable  account  in  Tacitus,  f 
which  combines  certain  features  which  are  Egyptian  with  others  that 
have  clearly  come  from  the  sacred  narrative. 

"  Most  writers  agree,"  says  Tacitus,  "  that  when  a  plague  which  dis- 
figured men's  bodies,  had  broken  out  in  Egypt,  Bocchoris.  the  king,  de- 
sirous of  a  remedy,  sent  and  consulted  the  oracle  of  Ammon,  which  com- 
manded him  to  purge  his  kingdom,  by  removing  to  foreign  lands  the  af- 
flicted persons,  who  were  a  race  hateful  to  the  gods.     Search  was  there- 

*  Diod.  Sic.  xl.  3.    (The  passage  is  preserved  to  us  by  Photius,  Bibliothec,  p.  1152.) 
t  Hist.  v.  3.    Compare  the  account  of  Lysimachus  (F/\  Hist.  Gr.  vol.  iii.  p.  334)! 


172  APPENDIX. 

fore  made,  and  a  vast  multitude  being  collected  together,  was  led  forth 
and  left  in  a  desert.  Then  Moses,  one  of  their  number,  seeing  the  rest 
stupefied  with  grief,  advised  them,  as  they  were  deserted  both  by  gods 
and  men  not  to  expect  help  from  either,  but  to  confide  in  him,  the  heav- 
enly leader,  to  whose  assistance  they  would  no  sooner  trust  than  they 
would  be  free  from  their  troubles.  His  words  won  their  assent,  and  in 
utter  ignorance  they  marched  whither  chance  led  them.  Their  greatest 
trial  was  the  want  of  water.  Death  seemed  drawing  near,  as  they  lay 
prostrate  on  the  plains,  when,  lo  !  a  herd  of  wild  asses  was  seen  to  quit 
its  pasture  and  retreat  to  a  piece  of  rocky  ground  whereon  a  number  of 
trees  grew.  Moses  followed  upon  their  track,  and  finding  a  patch  of  soil 
covered  with  grass,  conjectured  the  presence  of  water,  and  succeeded  in 
uncovering  some  copious  springs.  Thus  refreshed,  they  pursued  their 
journey  for  six  days,  and  on  the  seventh  reached  a  cultivated  tract, 
whereof  they  took  possession,  after  driving  out  the  inhabitants.  Here 
they  built  their  town   and  consecrated  their  temple." 

From  the  diverse  manner  in  which  the  story  is  told  by  different  au- 
thors, we  may  conclude  that  the  Egyptians  in  their  formal  histories  took 
no  notice  of  the  occurrence,  which  sorely  hurt  their  national  vanity  ;  but 
that  a  remembrance  of  it  continued  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  who  pos- 
sessed (it  must  be  borne  in  mind)  a  copious  contemporary  literature,*  and 
that  this  remembrance  gradually  took  various  shapes,  all  of  them,  how- 
ever, more  or  less  flattering  to  the  Egyptians  themselves,  and  unfair  to 
their  adversaries.  The  Hebrews  were  almost  uniformly  represented  as 
unclean  persons,  afflicted  with  some  disease  or  other,  and  their  Exodus 
was  declared  to  be  an  expulsion.  Generally  they  were  spoken  of  as 
Egyptians,  which  was  not  unnatural,  considering  their  long  sojourn  in 
the  country  ;  \  but  sometimes  it  was  allowed  that  they  were  foreigners.  J 
The  miraculous  events  by  which  their  departure  was  preceded  were  ignored 
partially  or  wholly ;  but  there  was  a  pretty  general  consent  as  to  the 
name  of  their  leader,  as  to  the  character  of  the  laws  which  he  gave  them, 
and  as  to  the  quarter  in  which  they  obtained  new  settlements.  The  Egyp- 
tians never  forgot,  any  more  than  the  Hebrews,  that  there  had  been  a 
time,  when  the  two  races  had  dwelt  together  ;  they  looked  on  the  He- 
brews as  a  sort  of  Egyptian  colony  ;  and  while  from  time  to  time  they 
claimed,  on  that  account,  a  dominion  over  their  country,  they  were  ready 
generally  to  extend  to  it  that  protection  which  colonies,  according  to  the 

*  The  hieratic  Papyri  of  Egypt  go  back  to  a  time  anterior  to  the  eighteenth  dy- 
nasty.   They  comprise  romances,  epistolary  correspondence,  poems,  etc. 

t  Compare  Ex.  ii.  19,  where  Reuel's  daughters  mistake  Moses  for  "  an  Egyptian." 
%  See  the  account  of  Hecatieus  (supra  p.  62),  and  compare  Tacit.  Hist.  v.  2  :  "  Some 
writers  tell  us  that  they  (i.  e.  the  Jews)  were  a  band  of  Assyrians,  who  being  in  want  of 
territory,  first  took  possession  of  a  portion  of  Egypt,  and  soon  afterwards  became  the 
inhabitants  of  the  parts  of  Syria  which  lie  near  to  Egypt.1' 


APPENDIX.  173 

ideas  of  the  ancient  world,  were  entitled  to  require  from  the  fatherland. 
The  relations  between  Egypt  and  Palestine  were,  for  the  most  part, 
friendly  from  the  time  of  the  Exodus  to  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  the 
Romans. 

In  none  of  the  profane  accounts  hitherto  quoted  has  the  remarkable 
event  of  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  by  the  Hebrews,  in  their  flight,  ob- 
tained any  mention.  There  is,  however,  reason  to  believe,  that  this  im- 
portant feature  of  the  history  retained  a  place  in  the  recollections  of  the 
Egyptian  people,  and  even  formed  a  subject  of  discussion  and  controversy 
among  them.  Artapanus,  a  Jewish  historian,  quoted  by  Alexander  Poly- 
histor,  *  the  contemporary  of  Sulla  and  Marius,  wrote  as  follows  : — 

"  The  3Iemphites  say,  that  Moses  being  well  acquainted  with  the  dis- 
trict, watched  the  ebb  of  the  tide,  and  so  led  the  people  across  the  dry 
bed  of  the  sea  ;  but  they  of  Heliopolis  affirm,  that  the  king  at  the  head  of 
a  vast  force,  and  having  the  sacred  animals  also  with  him,  pursued  after 
the  Jews,  because  they  were  carrying  away  with  them  the  riches,  which 
they  had  borrowed  of  the  Egyptians.  Then,  they  say,  the  voice  of  God 
commanded  Moses  to  smite  the  sea  with  his  rod,  and  divide  it  ;  and  Moses, 
when  he  heard  it,  touched  the  water  with  it,  and  so  the  sea  parted 
asunder,  and  the  host  marched  through  on  dry  ground." 

From  these  direct  testimonies  to  the  historical  truth  of  the  Exodus, 
we  may  now  turn  to  the  less  striking,  but  perhaps  even  more  convincing, 
indirect  evidence,  which  is  furnished  by  the  minute  agreement  of  the 
sacred  narrative  with  the  known  usages  of  ancient  Egypt. 

The  narrative  of  Exodus  tells  us,  in  the  first  place,  that  shortly  after 
the  death  of  Joseph  an  oppression  of  the  Israelites  began.  A  new  king — 
perhaps  the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty — claimed  the  whole  race  as  his 
slaves,  and  proceeded  to  engage  them  in  servile  labors,  placing  task-mas- 
ters over  them,  whose  business  it  was  to  "  make  their  lives  bitter  with 
hard  bondage  "  (Ex.  i.  i  4).  The  work  assigned  to  them  consisted  of  brick- 
making,  building,  and  severe  field-labor.  They  worked  under  the  rod, 
the  laborers  being  liable  to  be  "  smitten  "  by  the  Egyptian  taskmasters  as 
they  labored  (ii.  11),  and  the  native  officers  being  punished  by  flogging  if 
the  tasks  of  the  men  under  them  were  not  fulfilled  (v.  14).  On  the  brick- 
makers  a  certain  "  tale  of  bricks  "  was  imposed  (v.  8),  which  had  to  be 
completed  daily.  Straw  was  a  material  in  the  bricks  ;  and  this  was  at 
first  furnished  to  the  laborers,  but  afterwards  they  were  required  to  pro- 
cure straw  for  themselves,  on  which  they  spread  themselves  over  the 
land  and  gathered  stubble  (v.  12).  Details  are  wanting  with  respect  to 
their  other  employments  ;  but  in  one  place  (Deut.  xi.  10)  we  find  it  implied 
that  one  of  the  main  hardships  of  the  field-work  was  the  toil  of  irrigation. 

Almost  every  point  of  this  narrative  is  capable  of  illustration  from  the 
Egyptian  monuments.     Notwithstanding  the  great  abundance  of  stone  in 
*  Fragm.  Hist.  Gr.  vol.  iii.  pp.  223,  224. 


174  APPENDIX. 

Egypt,  and  the  fact  that  most  of  the  grander  buildings  were  constructed 
of  this  material,  yet  there  was  also  an  extensive  employment  of  brick  in 
the  country.  Pyramids,  *  houses,  tombs,  the  walls  of  towns,  fortresses, 
and  the  sacred  enclosures  of  temples,  were  commonly,  or  at  any  rate,  fre- 
quently, built  of  brick  by  the  Egyptians,  f  A  large  portion  of  the  brick- 
fields belonged  to  the  monarch,  for  whose  edifices  bricks  were  made  in 
them,  stamped  with  his  name.  %  Chopped  straw  was  an  ordinary  material 
in  the  bricks,  §  being  employed  as  hair  by  modern  plasterers,  to  bind 
them  together,  and  make  them  more  firm  and  durable.  Captives  and 
foreigners  commonly  did  the  work  in  the  royal  brickfields  ;  and  Egyptian 
taskmasters,  with  rods  in  their  hands,  watched  their  labors,  and  punished 
the  idle  with  blows  at  their  discretion.  |  The  bastinado  was  a  recognized 
punishment  for  minor  offences.  ^[  "  Stubble  and  straw  "  both  existed  in 
ancient  Egypt,  wheat  being  occasionally  cut  with  a  portion  of  the  stalk  ; 
while  the  remainder,  or  more  commonly,  the  entire  stalk,  was  left  stand- 
ing in  the  fields.**  And  both  stubble  and  straw  have  been  found  in  the 
bricks. ff  Finally,  though  agricultural  labor  is  in  some  respects  light  in 
Egypt,^  yet  practically,  from  the  continued  auccession  of  crops,  from  the 
inteuse  heat  of  the  climate,  and  from  the  exertions  needed  for  irrigation, 
the  lot  of  the  cultivator  has  always  been,  and  still  continues  to  be  a  hard 
one.^g 

Among  the  other  Egyptian  usages  introduced  to  our  notice  in  Exodus, 
the  most  remarkable  are  the  following : — The  employment  of  chariots, 
on  a  large  scale,  in  war  (xiv.  6,  7) ;  the  practice  of  the  king  to  go  out  to 
battle  in  person  (ib.  8) ;  the  hearing  of  complaints  and  transaction  of 
business  by  the  king  in  person  (v.  15) ;  the  possession,  by  most  Egyptians, 
of  articles  in  gold  and  silver  (xii.  35);  the  cultivation,  in  spring,  of  the 
following  crops  chiefly — wheat,  barley,  flax,  and  rye,  or  spelt  (ix.  32) ; 
the  keeping  of  cattle,  partly  in  the  fields,  partly  in  stables  (ix.  3.  19) ; 
the  storing  of  water  in  vessels  of  wood  and  stone  (vii.  19) ;  the  employ- 
ment of  midwives  (i.  15-21) ;  the  use  of  the  papyrus  for  boats  (ii.  3),  of 
furnaces  (ix.  8),  ovens  (viii.  3),  kneading-troughs  (ib.),  walking-sticks  (vii. 


*  Herod,  ii.  13C. 

t  Wilkinson  inRawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  183,  2d  ed. 

%  Rosellini,  Monumenti,  vol.  ii.  p.  252  ;  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii.  p.  97. 
§  Wilkinson;  vol.  i.  p.  50  ;  Rosellini,  vol.  ii.  pp.  252,  259,  etc. 
||  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii.  p.  42  ;  Rosellini,  vol.  ii.  p.  249. 
T  Wilkinson,  vol  ii.  p.  241. 
**  Wilkinson^  vol.  iv.  pp.  85-93,  ] 
ft  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  50. 

XX  "  The  Egyptians,"  says  Herodotus,  "  obtain  the  fruits  of  the  field  with  less  trouble 

than  any  other  people  in  the  world.    They  have  no  need  to  use  either  the  plough  or  the 

hoe  ;  the  swine  tread  in  their  corn,  and  also  thrash  it."  ii.  14.    Compare  Wilkinson's 

note  in  Rawlinson's  Herod,  vol.  ii.  p.  15,  2d.  ed. 

§§  See  Kalisch,  Comment,  on  Exod,  p.  10  ;  aud  compare  Wilkinson,  vol.  iv.  pp.  41-101. 


APPENDIX.  175 

10,  12),  hand-mills  (xi.  5),  bitumen  (ii.  3),  and  pitch  (ib.).  To  these  the 
following  may  be  added  from  the  later  books  of  the  Pentateuch — the 
necessary  employment  of  irrigation  in  agriculture  (Deut.  xi.  10) ;  the  use, 
as  common  articles  of  food,  of  fish,  cucumbers,  melons,  onions,  garlic » 
and  leeks  (Num.  xi.  5) ;  and  the  practice  of  the  kings  to  keep  large  studs 
of  horses  (Deut.  xvii.  16). 

Now  here  again,  as  in  the  later  chapters  of  Genesis,  almost  every  cus- 
tom recorded  can  be  confirmed  either  from  the  ancient  accounts  of  Egyp- 
tian manners  which  have  come  down  to  us,  or  from  the  monuments,  or 
from  both.  The  only  exception,  of  any  importance,  is  the  employment 
of  midwives,  which  was  probably  rare,  as  it  is  in  the  East  generally,  and 
was  also  of  a  nature  that  would  have  been  felt  to  render  it  unfit  for  rep- 
resentation. Even  here,  however,  where  ancient  illustration  fails,  a 
strong  confirmation  of  the  narrative  has  been  obtained  by  modern  inquiry, 
the  curious  expression,  "  when  ye  see  them  upon  the  stools,"  being  in 
remarkable  accordance  with  the  modern  Egyptian  practice,  as  stated  by 
Mr.  Lane.*  "  Two  or  three  days,"  he  says,  "  before  the  expected  time  of 
delivery,  the  layali  (midwife)  conveys  to  the  house  the  Jcursee  elwilddeh, 
a  chair  of  a  peculiar  form,  upon  which  the  patient  is  to  be  seated  during 
the  birth." 

The  monuments  show  that  in  ancient  Egypt  by  far  the  most  impor- 
tant arm  of  the  military  service  was  the  chariot  force.  The  king,  the 
princes,  and  all  the  chiefs  of  importance .  fought  from  chariots.f  Diod- 
orus  made  the  number  of  them  in  the  army  of  Sesostris,  27,0004  and 
though  this  is  a  gross  exaggeration,  it  shows  the  feeling  of  the  Greeks  as 
to  the  very  extensive  employment  of  chariots  by  the  earlier  monarchs. 
Cavalry  were  employed  to  a  very  small  extent,  if  at  all  ;§  and  though 
this,  at  first  sight,  may  seem  at  variance  with  the  Mosaic  narrative  (Ex. 
xiv.  9.  17,  18.  23,  etc.;  xv.  1),  yet  a  careful  examination  of  the  original 
text  will  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  force  which  pursued  the  Israel- 
ites was  composed  of  chariots  and  infantry  only.||  The  practice  of  the 
king  to  lead  out  his  army  in  person,  is  abundantly  evident,^  and  will 
scarcely  be  doubted  by  any.     It  was  indeed  a  practice  universal  at  the 


*  Modern  Egyptians,  vol  iii.  p.  142. 

+  Wilkinson,  vol.  i.  pp.  335-341  ;  Kosellini,  vol.  ii.  p.  240. 

X  Diod.  Sic.  i.   54. 

§  Kosellini  inclines  to  the  belief  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  had  no  cavalry  (vol.  ii. 
pp.  232-259).  Sir  G.  "Wilkinson  thinks  they  may  have  had  a  cavalry  force,  but  that  it 
was  scanty  (vol.  i.  pp.  289,  290).  Both  agree  that  no  cavalry  are  represented  on  the  mon- 
uments. Herodotus  once  speaks  of  an  Egyptian  commander  as  on  horseback  (ii.  162). 
Diodorus,  on  the  other  hand,  gives  Sesostris  a  numerous  cavalry  (i.  54). 

I  See  the  arguments  of  Hengstenberg  (pp.  127-129),  and  Kalisch  {Comment,  on  Exodus, 
pp.  182-184).  The  term  translated  "horsemen  "in  our  version,  refers  probably  to  the 
riders  in  the  chariots. 

1  Herod,  ii.  102  ;  Wilkinson,  i.  pp.  63,  65,  83,  etc. 


176  APPENDIX. 

time  among  all  Oriental  sovereigns.  The  hearing  of  complaints  and  pro- 
nouncing of  judgments  by  the  king  in  person,  was  also  very  usual 
throughout  the  East ;  and  the  existence  of  the  custom  in  Egypt  is  illus- 
trated by  many  passages  in  ancient  authors.* 

The  representations  with  respect  to  Egyptian  agriculture,  feeding  of 
cattle,  food,  dress,  and  domestic  habits  are  similarly  borne  out  both  by 
the  ancient  remains  and  the  ancient  authorities.  The  cultivation  depicted 
on  the  monuments  is  especially  that  of  wheat,  flax,  barley,  and  another 
grain,  which  is  believed  to  correspond  with  the  cussemeth,  "rye,"  or 
"  spelt,"  of  the  Hebrews.f  Fish  and  vegetables  formed  the  chief  food  of 
the  lower  classes  ;  and  among  the  vegetables  especially  affected,  gourds, 
cucumbers,  onions,  and  garlic  are  distinctly  apparent.:}:  According  to 
Herodotus,  some  tribes  of  the  Egyptians  lived  entirely  on  fish,  which 
abounded  in  the  Nile,  the  canals,  and  the  lakes,  especially  in  the  Birket- 
el-Keroun,  or  Lake  Mceris.§  The  monuments  represent  the  catching, 
salting,  and  eating  of  this  viand.  |  We  also  see  on  the  monuments  that 
cattle  were  kept,  both  in  the  field,  where  they  were  liable  to  be  over- 
taken by  the  inundation,*^"  and  also  in  stalls  or  sheds.**  The  wide-spread 
possession,  by  the  Egyptians,  of  articles  in  gold  and  silver,  vases,  goblets, 
necklaces,  armlets,  bracelets,  ear-rings,  and  finger-rings,  is  among  the 
facts  most  copiously  attested  by  the  extant  remains,ff  and  is  also  illus- 
trated by  the  ancient  writers,  who  even  speak  of  so  strange  an  article  as 
"  a  golden  foot-pan."^  The  employment  of  furnaces,  ovens,  and  knead- 
ing-trougks,  the  common  practice  of  carrying  staves  or  walking-sticks, 
and  the  use  of  hand-mills  for  grinding  corn,  are  likewise  certified  either 
by  representations  or  by  remains  found  in  the  country. §§ 

The  storing  of  water  in  vessels  of  wood  and  stone,  which  is  implied 
in  Ex.  vii.  19,  is  a  peculiarly  Egyptian  custom,  scarcely  known  elsewhere. 
The  abundance  of  water  in  the  Nile,  and  its  wide  diffusion  by  means  of 
.canals,  render  reservoirs,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  unnecessary 

*  See  Herod,  ii.  115  ;  121,  §  3  ;  129,  173. 

t  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii.  p.  398  ;  vol.  iv.  pp.  85-99. 

t  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  pp.  370-374  ;  and  compare  vol.  i.  2Y7,  and  Herod,  ii.  125. 

§  Herod,  ii.  92,  93,  149  ;  iii.  91. 

||  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii.  pp.  53,  56  ;  ii.  p.  401. 

«f  Ibid.  vol.  iv.  pp.  101,  102. 

**  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  134.  Compare  Cambridge  Essays  for  1858,  p.  249. 
tt  "The  ornaments  of  gold  found  in  Egypt,"  says  Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  "consist  of 
rings,  bracelets,  armlets,  necklaces,  ear-rings,  and  numerous  trinkets  belonging  to  the 
toilet"  (vol.  iii.  p.  225).  And  again,  "  Gold  and  silver  vases,  statues,  and  other  objects 
of  gold  and  silver,  of  silver  inlaid  with  gold,  and  of  bronze  inlaid  with  the  precious 
metals,  were  also  common  at  the  same  time"  (ibid).    Compare  pp.  370-377. 

XX  Herod,  ii.  172. 

§§  On  the  employment  of  furnaces,  see  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii.  p.  164 ;  of  ovens  and 
kneading-troughs,  vol.  v.  p.  385  ;  of  walking-sticks,  vol.  iii.  pp.  386,  387  ;  and  of  hand- 
miljs,  vol.  ii.  p.  118. 


APPENDIX.  177 

in  Egypt ;  and  water  would  never  be  stored,  if  it  were  not  for  the  neces- 
sity of  purifying  in  certain  seasons  the  turbid  fluid  furnished  by  the 
Nile,  in  order  to  render  it  a  palatable  beverage.  For  this  purpose  it  has 
always  been,  and  is  still,  usual  to  keep  the  Nile  water  in  jars,  stone 
troughs,  or  tabs,  until  the  sediment  is  deposited,  and  the  fluid  rendered 
fit  for  drinking.* 

The  practice  of  making  boats  out  of  the  papyrus,  recorded  in  Ex.  ii. 
3,f  is  also  specially  Egyptian,  and  was  not  in  vogue  elsewhere.  It  is 
distinctly  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  Plutarch,  and  many  other  aDcient 
writers,:}:  and  is  thought  to  be  traceable  on  the  monuments.§  The  caulk- 
ing of  these  boats  with  pitch  and  bitumen,  a  practice  not  mentioned  any- 
where but  in  Exodus,  is  highly  probable  in  itself  ;  and  is  so  far  in  accord- 
ance with  the  remains,  that  both  pitch  and  bitumen  are  found  to  have 
been  used  by  the  Egyptians.!  Bitumen,  which  is  not  an  Egyptian  prod- 
uct, appears  to  have  been  imported  from  abroad,  and  was  even  some- 
times taken  as  tribute  from  the  Mesopotamian  tribes,^"  with  whom  the 
ancient  Egyptians  had  frequent  contests. 

In  illustration  of  the  extensive  possession  of  horses  by  the  early  kings 
of  Egypt,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  adduce  a  passage  from  Diodorus,  who 
says  that  "  the  monarchs  before  Sesostris  maintained,  along  the  banks  of 
the  Nile  between  Memphis  and  Thebes,  two  hundred  stables,  in  each  of 
which  were  kept  a  hundred  horses."**  Herodotus  also  notices  that,  prior 
to  the  reign  of  Sesostris,  horses  and  carriages  were  very  abundant  in 
Egypt,  but  that  subsequently  they  became  comparatively  uncommon, 
since  the  intersection  of  the  whole  country  by  canals  rendered  it  unsuita- 
ble for  their  employment.ff  They  were  still,  no  doubt,  bred  and  em- 
ployed, and  even  exported  (1  Kings  x.  29),  to  a  certain  extent ;  but  from 
about  the  time  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  Egypt  ceased  to  be  a  great 
horse-breeding  country. 

Further,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  state  of  the  arts  among  the 
Hebrews  when  they  quitted  Egypt,  which  has  sometimes  been  objected 
to  as  unduly  advanced,  is  in  entire  accordance  with  the  condition  of  art 
in  Egypt  at  the  period.  The  Egyptian  civilization  of  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  dynasties  embraces  all  the  various  arts  and  manufactures 
necessary  for  the  construction  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  appurtenances, 

*  Wilkinson,  vol.  iv.  p.  100  ;  Pococke,  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  312. 

t  The  word  rendered  "bulrushes1,1  in  our  revision  (gomeh)  is  generally  admitted  to 
signify  some  kind  of  papyrus — probably  not  that  from  which  paper  was  made,  but  a 
coarser  kind. 

X  Herod,  ii.  96  ;  Plut.  Be  Md.  et  Os.  §  18  ;  Theophrast.  Be  Plantis,  iv.  9 ;  Plin.  H.  N. 
Xiii.  11,  etc. 

§  Wilkinson,  v.  ii.  pp.  60,  185. 

D  Ibid.  vol.  iii.  p.  186  ;  Eosellini,  vol.  i.  p.  249. 

T  Wilkinson,  in  Kawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  i.  p.  254. 
**  Diod.  Sic.  i.  tt  Herod,  ii.  108. 

8* 


278  APPENDIX. 

for  the  elaborate  dress  of  the  priests,  and  for  the  entire  ceremonial  de- 
scribed in  the  later  books  of  the  Pentateuch.  The  employment  of  writ- 
ing, the  arts  of  cutting  and  setting  gems,  the  power  of  working  in  metals 
■ — and  especially  in  gold,  in  silver,  and  in  bronze — skill  in  carving  wood, 
the  tanning  and  dyeing  of  leather,  the  manufacture  of  fine  linen,  the 
knowledge  of  embroidery,  the  dyeing  of  textile  fabrics,  the  employment 
of  gold  thread,  the  preparation  and  use  of  highly-scented  unguents,  are 
parts  of  the  early  civilization  of  Egypt,  and  were  probably  at  their  high- 
est perfection  about  the  time  that  the  Exodus  took  place.*  Although 
the  Hebrews,  while  in  Egypt,  were,  for  the  most  part,  mere  laborers  and 
peasants,  still  it  was  natural  that  some  of  them,  and,  even  more,  that 
some  of  the  Egyptians  who  accompanied  them  (Ex.  xiii.  38),  should  have 
been  acquainted  with  the  various  branches  of  trade  and  manufacture 
established  in  Egypt  at  the  time.  Hence  there  is  nothing  improbable  in 
the  description  given  in  the  Pentateuch  of  the  Ark  and  its  surroundings, 
since  the  Egyptian  art  of  the  time  was  quite  equal  to  their  production. 

The  sojourn  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  for  forty  years  removed 
them  so  entirely  during  that  space,  from  contact  with  any  historic  people, 
that  we  cannot  expect  to  find,  in  the  profane  records  that  have  come 
down  to  us,  anything  to  confirm  or  illustrate  the  sacred  narrative.  That 
narrative  must  rest,  first,  on  the  profound  conviction  of  its  truthfulness 
which  remained  forever  impressed  upon  the  consciousness  of  the  people ; 
secondly,  on  its  geographic  accuracy,  and  on  the  perfect  accordance  with 
fact  of  what  may  be  called  its  local  coloring  ;f  and  thirdly,  on  the  quasi- 
certainty  that  it  is  the  production  of  an  eye-witness.  It  may  be  added, 
that  the  circumstances  recorded  are  too  little  creditable  to  the  Hebrew 
people  for  any  national  historiographer  to  have  invented  them. 

Recent  criticism  has  attacked  chiefly  the  numbers  in  the  narrative.^ 
There  is  certainly  a  difficulty  in  understanding  how  a  population  exceed- 
ing two  millions  could  have  supported  itself,  together  with  its  flocks  and 
herds,  in  a  tract  which,  at  the  present  day,  barely  suffices  to  sustain  some 
tribes  of  Bedouins,  numbering  perhaps  six  thousand  souls.§  Had  the 
narrative  made  no  mention  of  miraculous  maintenance,  this  difficulty 
would  have  been  almost  insurmountable.  As,  however,  the  writer  ex- 
pressly declares  that  a  miraculous  supply  of  food  was  furnished  daily 
during  the  whole  period  of  the  sojourn  to  the  entire  people,  the  main 
objection  disappears.  We  have  only  to  suppose  that,  although  the  tract, 
compared  with  Egypt,  and  even  with  Palestine,  was  a  desert,  yet  that  it 
was  considerably  better  supplied  with  water,  and  so  with  pasturage,  than 
it  is  at  the  present  day.     There  are  many  indications  that  this  was  the 

*  See  Hengstenberg,  (Egypt en  und  Jfose,  ch.  v.  pp.  133-143,  E.  F. 

t  See  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine,  Part  i.  pp.  1-57. 

t  Colenso,  The  Pentateuch  and  the  Book  of  Joshua  Critically  Examined,  pp.  31-138. 

§  Stanley,  p.  22. 


APPENDIX.  179 

case  *  The  Israelites  apparently  needed  a  miraculons  supply  of  water 
twice  only.  If  so,  wells  must  have  been  numerous  and  abundant,  water 
being  to  be  found  in  most  places  at  a  little  distance  from  the  surface. 
But  wherever  in  the  desert  this- is  the  case,  there  will  occur  oases,  and  a 
sufficient  vegetation  for  flocks  and  herds  of  a  considerable  size.  The 
Israelites,  no  doubt,  spread  themselves  widely  over  the  peninsula  during 
the  forty  years ;  and  as  the  area  of  the  desert  is  at  least  1500  square 
miles,  the  numerous  flocks  and  herds  wherewith  they  entered  the  coun- 
try may  have  maintained  themselves,  though,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  we 
are  not  told  whether  their  numbers  diminished  or  no. 

In  any  case,  a  difficulty  which  is  merely  numerical  is  of  no  great 
account.  Numbers,  which,  in  early  times,  so  far  as  we  have  any  evidence 
on  the  subject,!  were  always  expressed,  in  some  abbreviated  form,  by 
conventional  signs,  are  far  more  liable  to  corruption  than  any  other  parts 
of  ancient  manuscripts.  The  great  fact  recorded,  which  stands  out  as 
historically  true,  and  which  no  petty  criticism  can  shake,  is  the  exit 
from  Egypt  of  a  considerable  tribe,  the  progenitors  of  the  later  Hebrew 
nation,  and  their  settlement  in  Palestine,  after  a  sojourn  of  some  dura- 
tion in  the  wilderness.  Of  this  fact  the  Hebrews  and  Egyptians  were 
equally  well  convinced;  and  as  both  nations  enjoyed  a  contemporary  lit- 
erature, and  had  thus  the  evidence  on  the  point  of  witnesses  living  at 
the  time,  only  an  irrational  scepticism  can  entertain  a  doubt  respecting  it. 


APPENDIX    B. 

THE    RESULTS    OF    THE    SINAI    EXPEDITION. 

[From  the  Sinai  Survey,  "  Desert  of  the  JSxodus."] 

By  E.  H.  Palmer,  M.  A. 

Bearings  upon  the  History  of  the  Exodus.— Authority  for  Identifying  the  Country  Sur- 
veyed with  the  Sinai  of  the  Bible.— Route  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  and  Sinai. — 
Besume  of  Arguments.— Conclusion. 

Viewed  merely  as  a  contribution  to  geographical  science,  the  accu- 
rate investigation  of  a  country  so  little  known  as  Sinai  is  undoubtedly  a 
valuable  work.     But  the  chief  interest  of  the  Peninsula  must  always  lie 

*  Stanley,  pp.  23-27  ;  Highton,  in  Biblical  Dictionary,  vol.  iii.  pp.  1752-1754.  The  tes- 
timony of  the  recent  explorers,  Mr.  Holland  and  Mr.  Tristram,  is  to  the  same  effect. 

t  On  the  numerical  signs  used  in  Ancient  Egypt,  see  Wilkinson  in  Rawlinson's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  51,  and  compare  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iv.  pp.  130,  131.  On  the 
6igns  used  by  the  early  Babylonians,  see  Rawlinsons  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i.  pp. 
129-131. 


180  APPENDIX. 

in  its  connection  with  the  Bible  Narrative;  and  it  is  only  in  so  far  as 
they  elucidate  or  illustrate  Holy  Scripture  that  we  can  judge  of,  or  appre- 
ciate, the  results  obtained  by  the  Sinai  Expedition.  I  have  endeavored, 
by  portraying  the  country  as  it  is,  to  enable  the  reader  to  form  his  own 
opinions  upon  this  subject,  but  it  may  not  be  inappropriate  here  to  men- 
tion briefly  the  conclusions  at  which  we  have  ourselves  arrived,  and  to 
point  out  how  the  various  facts  which  we  have  brought  to  light  bear 
upon  the  history  of  the  Exodus. 

The  matter  resolves  itself  into  this  :  A  circumstantial  account  is  given 
in  the  Bible  of  an  event  so  important  that  upon  our  acceptance  or  rejec- 
tion of  it  as  an  historical  fact  depends  the  whole  question  of  our  religious 
belief, — of  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  Old  Testament.  Such  a  position 
could  not  long  remain  unassailed,  and  we  are  accordingly  met  with  num- 
berless objections,  which  nothing  but  actual  knowledge  of  the  country 
can  enable  us  to  discuss,  much  less  to  answer. 

I  shall  deal  with  the  question  as  purely  one  of  evidence,  taking  the 
plain  unvarnished  statements  of  the  history,  and  comparing  them  one  by 
one  with  the  present  topographical  facts. 

It  may  well  be  asked,  what  authority  have  we  for  assuming  that  the 
Peninsula  now  known  by  the  name  of  Sinai  is  that  in  which  the  Moun- 
tain of  the  Law  is  situated  ;  or  that  the  Passage  of  the  Red  Sea  took 
place  at  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez,  rather  than  at  the  Gulf  of 
Akabah  ? 

The  itinerary  in  Numbers  xxxiii.  supplies  us  with  a  conclusive 
answer.  The  Children  of  Israel  reached  the  seacoast  in  three  days  after 
leaving  Rarneses,  and  no  possible  theory  of  the  position  of  that  town 
could  bring  it  within  three  days'  journey  of  the  Gulf  of  Akabah.  The 
Gulf  of  Suez  is,  however,  distant  exactly  three  days'  journey  from  the 
site  of  Memphis,  in  which  neighborhood  at  least  the  ancient  capital  of 
Egypt  must  have  stood,  and  it  is  therefore  certain  that  the  Gulf  of  Suez 
is  the  Red  Sea  referred  to  in  the  history.  The  same  authority  tells  us  that 
the  Children  of  Israel  did  not  take  the  northern  road  to  Palestine  by  way 
of  Gaza,  so  that  there  is  absolutely  no  other  course  which  they  could 
have  taken,  after  crossing  to  the  Asiatic  coast,  than  the  road  which  lies 
between  the  steep  wall-like  escarpment  of  Jebel  er  Rahah  and  the  Red  Sea. 

This  would  conduct  them  towards  the  mountainous  district  in  the 
centre  of  the  Peninsula,  and  it  is  consequently  evident  that  we  are  so  far 
right  in  looking  for  Mount  Sinai  in  that  region.  Having  satisfied  our- 
selves that  we  are  upon  the  track  of  the  Israelites,  we  have  next  to 
determine  the  route  which  they  must  have  taken.  In  many  countries  it 
would  be  impossible  to  pitch  upon  one  road  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the 
rest,  but,  thanks  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  country  under  considera- 
tion, we  are  enabled,  by  an  exhaustive  process,  if  not  to  prove,  at  least 
to  arrive  at  a  more  than  plausible  conjecture  upon,  this  point. 


APPENDIX.  181 

The  Israelites  were  travelling  in  heavy  marching  order,  taking  with 
them  their  wives,  children,  household  effects,  and  indeed  all  their  worldly 
possessions.  We  learn  that  they  even  had  wagons  with  them  during 
their  journey,  for  we  are  told,  in  Numbers  vii.  3,  that  "  the  Princes  of 
Israel  brought  their  offering  before  the  Lord,  sis  covered  wagons  and 
twelve  oxen." 

Under  these  circumstances,  difficult  or  intricate  passes  and  defiles  are 
out  of  the  question,  and  our  attention  is  confined  to  those  roads  which 
are  passable  for  a  large  caravan  with  heavily  laden  beasts  of  burden. 

It  may  be  objected  that,  as  the  Israelite  host  was  miraculously  guided 
"  by  the  Pillar  of  Cloud  by  day,  and  the  Pillar  of  Fire  by  night,"  we  need 
not,  or  ought  not,  to  argue  from  the  probabilities  suggested  by  the  physi- 
cal features  of  the  country.  To  this  I  would  answer  that  we  are  ex- 
pressly told  that  "  God  went  before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  cloud  to 
lead  them  the  way,"  not  to  make  for  them  a  road,  but  to  guide  them  in 
the  best  and  easiest  path,  and  we  are  therefore  the  more  bound  to  take 
into  consideration  everything  which  could  give  one  road  preference  over 
another. 

The  difficulty  of  providing  water  for  the  cattle  by  which  they  were 
accompanied  has  proved  a  great  stumbling-block  to  many,  but  this  Mr. 
Holland  has  considerably  lessened  by  a  novel  and  ingenious  suggestion. 
He  believes  that,  instead  of  being  an  encumbrance  to  the  movements  of 
the  host,  they  were  used  as  beasts  of  burden,  and  that,  in  addition  to  the 
camp-furniture,  each  carried  its  own  supply  of  water,  sufficient  for  sev- 
eral days,  in  water-skins  slung  at  its  sides,  precisely  as  Sir  Samuel  Baker 
found  them  doing  at  the  present  day  in  Abyssinia.* 

The  spot  bearing  the  name  of  Aytin  Miisa,  Moses'  Wells,  is  no  doubt 
traditionally  connected  with  the  Exodus,  and  was  very  probably  the  first 
camping-place  of  the  Israelites  after  crossing  the  Red  Sea.  From  this 
point  the  road  is  unmistakable  for  the  first  three  days,  since  it  lies  over 
a  flat  strip  of  desert,  across  which  they  would  naturally  choose  the 
straightest  and  most  direct  path.  The  Bible  dismisses  this  part  of  their 
journey  in  a  few  words  ;  "they  went  out  into  the  wilderness  of  Shur ; 
and  they  went  three  days  in  the  wilderness,  and  found  no  water." 
(Exodus  xv.  22) ;  but  I  doubt  if  a  more  suggestive  description  could  pos- 
sibly be  given  of  this  monotonous  waterless  waste,  the  only  impressive 
feature  of  which  is  the  long  shur,  or  "  wall,"  which  forms  its  northern 
limit. 

The  next  verse  proceeds,  "  and  when  they  came  to  Marah,  they  could 
not  drink  of  the  waters  of  Marah,  for  they  were  bitter."  Now  the  soil 
throughout  this  part  of  the  country,  being  strongly  impregnated  with 
natriin,  produces  none  but  bitter  or  brackish  water ;  and  it  is  worth 

*  Paper  read  before  the  Church  Congress,  1869. 


182  APPENDIX. 

observing,  that  the  first  of  these  springs  with  which  we  meet,  Ain  Haw- 
warah,  is  reached  on  the  third  day  of  our  desert  journey  to  Sinai. 

They  next  "  came  to  Elim,  where  were  twelve  wells  of  water,  and 
threescore  and  ten  palm-trees."  Here  again,  our  own  experience  accords 
with  that  of  the  Israelites,  for  our  next  station  is  in  Wady  Gharandel, 
which  contains  a  considerable  amount  of  vegetation,  palm-trees  in  great 
numbers  among  the  rest,  and  a  perennial  stream.  It  would  be  of  course 
idle  to  contend  that  this  is  the  identical  oasis  mentioned  in  Exodus,  but 
I  would  remind  the  reader  that  a  supply  of  water  larger  than  usual,  and 
a  consequently  larger  proportion  of  vegetation,  depends  upon  the  geo- 
logical configuration  of  the  country,  and  that,  although  individual  springs 
may  disappear,  and  break  forth  again  at  other  places  in  the  vicinity,  a 
few  thousand  years  are  not  likely, to  make  any  very  radical  change  in 
this  respect.  Whole  districts  may  be,  and  often  are,  rendered  barren 
and  dry  by  the  diminution  of  the  rainfall,  consequent  upon  neglect  and 
the  destruction  of  vegetation  ;  but,  where  a  spot  like  Gharandel  still 
exists,  in  spite  of  the  deteriorating  influences  which  have  been  at  work 
in  Sinai,  we  may  fairly  assume  that  its  fertility  dates  from  a  very  remote 
period  of  antiquity. 

M  And  they  removed  from  Elim,  and  encamped  by  the  Red  Sea," 
(Num.  xxxiii.  10).  To  reach  the  sea,  two  roads  were  open  to  them, — 
either  to  follow  Wady  Gharandel  itself  to  its  mouth,  or  to  turn  down  the 
next  practicable  valley,  Wady  Taiyebeh.  The  first  is  extremely  un- 
likely, as  the  cliffs  and  rough  rocks  which  come  down  to  the  water's 
edge  past  this  point  would  have  impeded  their  further  progress,  and 
compelled  them  to  retrace  their  steps ;  whereas  from  Wady  Taiyebeh 
the  coast  is  open  and  passable,  and  moreover  the  mouth  of  the  valley 
affords  a  fine  clear  space  for  their  encampment  by  the  sea.  There  are 
two  roads  to  Sinai,  the  upper  one  by  Sarabit  el  Khadirn,  and  the  lower 
one  by  the  coast ;  and  the  modern  traveller  who  chooses  the  latter  still 
turns  off  by  Wady  Taiyebeh,  and  reaches  the  sea-shore  in  a  fair  day's 
journey  from  Gharandel.  There  are  several  reasons  which  would  have 
led  to  the  selection  of  this  route  by  the  Israelite  hosts  ;  the  rugged 
passes  and  narrow  valleys  on  the  upper  road  would  have  presented 
insuperable  difficulties  to  a  large  caravan  encumbered  by  heavy  baggage 
and  they  would  have  passed  through  a  district  actually  held  by  a  large 
military  force  of  the  very  enemies  from  whom  they  were  fleeing.  The 
Bible,  however,  speaks  of  no  collision  between  the  Egyptians  and  Israel- 
ites, during  the  whole  of  their  wanderings,  after  the  passage  of  the  Red 
Sea.  Between  Wady  Gharandel  and  Wady  Taiyebeh,  two  valleys,  Wady 
Useit  and  Wady  E  thill,  descend  to  the  sea  ;  but  the  first  of  these  is  pre- 
cluded as  a  route  to  Sinai,  for  the  same  reason  that  leads  us  to  reject 
Wady  Gharandel,  viz.  that  the  cliffs  of  Jebel  Hainmam  Far'un,  a  short 
way  south  of  its  mouth,  cut  off  progress  along  shore  ;  and  the  second 


APPENDIX.  183 

becomes  impassable,  even  for  pedestrians.,  towards  its  mouth  :  so  tbat  we 
are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  Wady  Taiyebeh  was  the  only  road  down 
which  the  Children  of  Israel  could  have  marched. 

On  the  supposition  that  they  did  so,  the  wilderness  of  Sin  will  be  the 
narrow  strip  of  desert  which  fringes  the  coast  south  of  Wady  Taiyebeh  ; 
and  although  it  is  impossible  to  define  with  exactness  the  next  two 
stations,  Dophkah  and  Alush,  we  may  fairly  presume  that  they  lay  within 
the  next  two  days'  journey,  which  would  bring  the  Israelites  well  into 
Wady  Feiran.  Travellers  by  this  route  in  the  present  day  do  not  follow 
Wady  Feiran,  but  turn  off  by  Wady  Shellal,  and  make  for  Wady  Mu- 
katteb  by  the  Nagb  Buderah,  but  the  road  over  that  pass  was  unques- 
tionably constructed  at  a  date  posterior  to  the  Exodus,  and,  had  it  even 
existed  at  that  time,  would  have  been  less  practicable  than  Wady  Feiran, 
and  would  not  only  have  led  the  Israelites  into  collision  with  the  Egyp- 
tians at  Magharah,  but  have  presented  a  further  difficulty  in  the  pass  of 
Jebel  Mukatteb.  Beyond  Wady  Feiran  there  is  no  practicable  valley :  Wady 
Hebran,  the  most  open  of  them  all,  being  far  too  difficult  and  rugged  to  have 
admitted  of  their  passing  through  it.  I  have  already  discussed  the 
reasons,  both  legendary  and  geographical,  for  placing  Rephidim  at  Hesy 
el  Khattatin  in  Wady  Feiran,  and  if  we  read  the  verse,  Exodus  xix.  12, 
"  and  they  departed  from  Rephidim,  and  pitched  in  the  wilderness  of 
Sinai,"  as  implying  a  break  in  the  march  between  Rephidim  and  the 
Mount  of  the  Law  (as  was  suggested  on  page  161),  we  shall  find  that 
the  natural  route  from  Egypt  to  Sinai  accords  exactly  with  the  simple 
and  concise  account  given  in  the  Bible  of  the  Exodus  of  the  Chosen 
People. 

In  these  conclusions  all  the  members  of  the  Expedition  are  agreed. 
Mr.  Holland,  it  is  true,  dissents  upon  one  point,  the  position  of  Rephidim, 
which  he  would  place  at  El  Watiyeh,  believing  that  the  whole  host  of 
the  Israelites  turned  off  from  Wady  Feiran  up  Wady  es  Sheikh,  and 
that  the  battle  with  the  Amalekites  took  place  long  after  Feiran  had 
been  passed.  In  the  main  facts  of  the  route,  however,  and  in  the  identi- 
fication of  Jebel  Mtisa  with  Mount  Sinai,  our  investigations  have  led  us 
to  form  one  unanimous  opinion. 

We  are  thus  able  not  only  to  trace  out  a  route  by  which  the  Children 
of  Israel  could  have  journeyed,  but  also  to  show  its  identity  with  that 
so  concisely  but  graphically  laid  down  in  the  Pentateuch.  We  have 
seen,  moreover,  that  it  leads  to  a  mountain  answering  in  every  respect  to 
the  description  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law;  the  chain  of  topographical 
evidence  is  complete,  and  the  maps  and  sections  may  henceforth  be  confi- 
dently left  to  tell  their  own  tale. 

The  arguments  against  objections  founded  on  the  supposed  incapabil- 
ity of  the  Peninsula  to  have  supported  so  large  a  host,  I  need  not  reca- 
pitulate here;  in  the  evidence  adduced  of  the  greater  fertility  which 


184  APPENDIX. 

once  existed  in  Sinai,  and  in  the  actual  measurements  of  its  areas,  the 
reader  has  all  the  data  for  himself  to  decide  upon  these  points. 

We  cannot  perhaps  assign  much  importance  to  Arab  traditions  relat- 
ing to  the  Exodus  as  an  argument  for  or  against  the  truth  of  the  story, 
but  it  is  at  least  interesting  to  know  that  such  traditions  are  found,  and 
it  is  satisfactory  to  have  them  in  a  collected  and  accessible  form.  Such 
legends,  as  we  might  expect,  are  chiefly  attached  to  particular  localities  ; 
they  do  not  follow  the  Children  of  Israel  by  any  single  or  consistent 
route  through  the  Peninsula,  but  any  spot  possessing  peculiar  features, 
wherever  it  may  be  situated,  is  connected  by  the  simple  Arab  with  the 
grand,  mysterious  figure  of  the  Hebrew  prophet,  whose  memory  still  lin- 
gers in  the  wild  traditions  of  Sinai. 

Such  spots  are,  (1)  Moses'  wells  at  'Aytin  Miisa  near  Suez,  and  'Ain 
Musa  on  Jebel  Musa.  (2)  Moses'  seats :  at  Abu  Zenimeh,  on  the  sea- 
shore near  Hammam  Far'un,  is  shown  the  place  where  Moses  watched 
the  drowning  of  the  Egyptians,  and  in  the  pass  of  El  Watiyeh  the  chair- 
shaped  rock,  now  called  Magad  en  Nebi,  is  supposed  to  have  received  its 
peculiar  shape  from  the  impress  of  the  prophet's  form.  Similar  rocks 
are  found  in  the  valley  (Wady  ed  Deir)  in  which  the  convent  of  St. 
Katharine  is  situated,  and  upon  the  summit  of  Jebel  Musa  itself.  (3) 
Rocks  struck  by  Moses  ;  that  in  Wady  Berrah  supposed  to  have  been 
cleft  in  twain  by  Moses'  sword ;  the  Ha j jar  el  Magarin  in  the  path  along 
Wady  Leja,  and  Hesy  el  Khattatin  in  Wady  Feiriin.  The  Hajjar  Musa 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  convent,  which  is  pointed  out  to  pilgrims  as  the 
true  rock  in  Horeb,  is  a  palpable  fiction  of  the  monks,  and  is  virtually 
disregarded  by  the  Arabs.  (4)  Moses'  Baths  ;  as  the  Hammam  Syedna 
Miisa  at  Tor.  The  Bedawi  version  of  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  and 
the  legend  of  the  building  of  stone  huts  (nawdmis)  by  the  Children  of 
Israel  to  keep  off  the  plague  of  mosquitoes,  I  have  already  given. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  prove  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  are 
themselves  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  idea  that  their  own  desolate  and 
rocky  land  was  once  the  scene  of  a  great  and  wonderful  manifestation  of 
God  to  man. 

The  Mohammedan  tradition,  as  elsewhere  current  also,  evidently 
points  to  Jebel  Musa  as  the  true  Mount  Sinai.  The  description  given  by 
the  commentators  on  the  Coran  of  the  "  Holy  wady  of  Towa,"  where 
Moses  halted  amidst  the  snow  and  mist,  could  scarcely  apply  to  any  other 
spot,  while  the  distance,  according  to  the  same  authority,  of  Midian 
from  Egypt,  exactly  tallies  with  the  position  of  Feiran.  Whether,  there- 
fore, we  look  at  the  results  obtained  in  physical  geography  alone,  or  take 
into  consideration  the  mass  of  facts  which  the  traditions  and  nomencla- 
ture disclose,  we  are  bound  to  admit  that  the  investigations  of  the  Sinai 
Expedition  do  materially  confirm  and  elucidate  the  history  of  the 
Exodus. 


APPENDIX.  185 

APPENDIX    C. 

THE    ROCK    SMITTEN    IN    HOREB. 

Mr.  Hurter,  of  the  Syria  Mission  of  the  American  Board,  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  written  to  one  of  the  professors  at  Andover,  expresses 
much  confidence  that  he  has  discovered  the  "  identical  rock  from  whence 
flowed  the  stream  which  quenched  the  thirst  of  the  thousands  of  Israel;" 
and  says,  "  future  travellers  will  probably  confirm  this  opinion :" — 

"  Beirut,  Syria,  May  23, 1863. 

"  Having  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to  Mount  Sinai,  I  thought  you 
would  be  interested  in  the  discovery  of  a  spring  of  water  under  the  east 
side  of  Mount  Horeb,  which  I  cannot  learn  has  been  noticed  by  any  trav- 
eller who  has  written  on  Sinai,  but  which  is  so  striking,  that  had  it  been 
seen,  it  would  certainly  have  been  mentioned.  Travellers  generally  go 
to  the  Convent,  and  lodge  there  during  their  sojourn  at  Sinai ;  and  those 
who  prefer  to  remain  outside  the  Convent,  pitch  their  tents  on  the  usual 
camping  ground  at  the  entrance  of  Wady  Shu'eib,  near  the  east  side  of 
the  Wady,  and  under  or  close  by  a  little  hill,  where  we  also  encamped. 
Travellers  almost  always  take  a  dragoman  with  them,  and  never  attend 
to  the  supply  of  water  for  the  prosecution  of  their  journey.  Not  having 
a  dragoman  with  us,  we  had  to  attend  to  the  filling  of  the  barrels  our- 
selves. In  coming  towards  Mount  Horeb,  we  took  the  road  followed  by 
Dr.  Robinson,  by  Wady  er  Rahah.  On  page  89  of  the  first  volume  of  his 
Researches,  he  says :  "  On  the  left  of  Horeb,  a  deep  and  narrow  valley 
runs  up  south-southeast,  between  lofty  walls  of  rock,  as  if  in  continua- 
tion of  the  southeast  corner  of  the  Plain.  In  this  valley,  at  a  distance 
of  nearly  a  mile  from  the  Plain,  stands  the  Convent."  On  the  east  side 
of  this  valley,  and  at  its  entrance,  is  a  small  hill,  separated  from  the 
mountain  by  a  road  about  one  hundred  feet  across,  which  travellers  fol- 
low in  going  to  the  Convent  from  Wady  es  Sheikh,  while  those  who  go 
to  the  Convent  by  Wady  er  Rahah  pass  on  the  west  side  of  the  hill.  On 
the  south  side  of  this  hill  is  the  camping  ground,  and  in  getting  to  it  we 
made  a  short  circuit  of  five  minutes'  ride  to  avoid  a  precipitous  bank. 

"  On  arriving  at  our  camping  ground,  we  requested  our  cameleers, 
before  dispersing  to  their  homes,  to  fill  our  barrels  with  water.  They 
said  they  would  take  two  of  them  to  a  spring  where  there  was  a  reser- 
voir, into  which  they  would  place  them.  They  pointed  out  to  us  the 
direction,  on  the  west  side  of  the  valley,  under  Horeb,  and  we  perceived 
a  few  trees  at  that  place.     Towards  evening  I  told  my  party  that  I  would 


186  APPENDIX. 

go  and  see  whether  they  had  filled  and  sunk  the  barrels  in  the  pool. 
The  direction  of  the  spring  was  straight  across  the  valley  from  the  camp- 
ing-ground. After  leaving  the  tents,  in  about  two  minutes  1  ascended 
the  ground  where  we  made  the  circuit,  then  passed  down  a  slight  decliv- 
ity, after  which  the  ground  gradually  rose  until  I  reached  the  spring,  in 
about  ten  minutes,  by  a  rugged  path  over  large  boulders  of  Sinaite 
granite.  Here  I  was  surprised  to  find  a  spring  of  pure  water  issuing 
from  a  rent  in  the  rock.  The  rent  was  in  an  oblique  direction,  the  high- 
est part  of  it  on  the  left,  and  sloping  down  towards  the  right.  The 
lowest  part  of  the  fissure  was  as  high  as  a  man's  head  from  the  ground. 
The  surrounding  rock  is  the  solid  red  granite  of  Sinai,  smooth  on  its 
face,  and  unbroken  by  fissure  or  seam.  The  fissure  is  about  sis  feet 
long,  four  inches  wide,  five  inches  deep  at  the  bottom,  and  twelve  at  the 
top,  and  runs  down  into  the  rock  parallel  with  the  perpendicular  side  of 
the  mountain.  The  water  seems  to  issue  about  two  feet  above  the 
bottom  of  the  rent,  flowing  over  the  lowest  part  of  it  in  a  stream  about 
the  thickness  of  a  man's  finger.  The  reservoir  is  about  twelve  feet  long 
by  five  feet  in  width,  and  four  feet  deep,  and  was  nearly  full  when  I 
reached  the  place.  When  full,  the  water  is  let  off  to  irrigate  some 
twenty  or  more  fruit  trees.  As  I  was  the  first  (as  far  as  I  am  aware)  to 
observe  this  singular  "  rent"  in  the  "  Rock  of  Horeb,"  and  am  unable  to 
find  any  allusion  to  it  in  the  books  of  Burckhardt,  Robinson,  Stanley,  or 
other  travellers,  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  inform  the  public  of  the 
fact,  in  order  that  future  travellers  may  not  fail  to  see  it.  Could  we 
suppose  that  Moses  had  a  rod  about  six  feet  long,  and  that,  raising  the 
lower  end  of  it  as  high  as  his  head,  he  struck  it  obliquely  against  the 
granite  cliff,  and  that  a  wedge-shaped  cavity  was  thus  miraculously 
formed,  this  rent  would  meet  the  conditions  exactly. 

"  I  would  simply  state  that  I  made  the  above  discovery  on  the  26th 
of  February." 

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